Disclaimer: This is a quickly written blog post that does not focus on the many facets of gaming, the many years of research carried out in the industry, and the positive impact the industry has had on generations.
*Thanks for the assistance on this whether you were aware or not
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undeniably transformed the digital landscape, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows, especially when we delve into the intricate world of mixed reality and social media. While the gaming industry has achieved remarkable feats and positive impacts, it's time to shine a light on a darker aspect: the negative consequences of generative AI on users' psychology in these immersive digital realms.
Background
What Is Mixed Reality
Mixed reality (MR) encompasses a spectrum that combines elements of both the physical and digital worlds. The vectors of mixed reality refer to various aspects that contribute to the blending of these two realms. Here are some key vectors of mixed reality:
1. Physical Environment: This vector represents the real-world physical space where mixed reality experiences occur. It includes the physical objects, locations, and structures that users interact with or view through mixed reality devices.
2. Digital Content: Digital content is a fundamental vector of MR. It includes virtual objects, holograms, 3D models, and digital information that is superimposed onto or integrated with the physical environment to create the mixed reality experience.
3. User Interaction: How users interact with and manipulate digital content within the mixed reality environment is crucial. This vector encompasses various input methods such as gestures, voice commands, hand tracking, controllers, and even brain-computer interfaces.
4. Spatial Mapping: Spatial mapping involves the process of creating a digital map or model of the physical environment in real-time. This vector enables MR devices to understand the geometry and layout of the physical world, allowing for accurate placement of digital objects.
5. Sensory Feedback: Sensory feedback refers to the sensory cues provided to users to enhance immersion. This includes visual, auditory, and haptic feedback, which can make the mixed reality experience more convincing and interactive.
6. Tracking and Localisation: Accurate tracking and localisation technology is essential for understanding where the user is within the physical environment and how their viewpoint changes as they move. This vector ensures that digital content aligns correctly with the real world.
7. Display Technology: The type of display technology used in MR devices is a critical vector. It can include augmented reality (AR) glasses, virtual reality (VR) headsets, or even more advanced devices that seamlessly transition between AR and VR modes.
8. Content Interaction: How users interact with digital content and how it responds to their actions is a significant vector. This involves aspects like object physics, collision detection, and the behaviour of digital objects in response to user input.
9. Network Connectivity: Connectivity plays a role in enabling shared mixed reality experiences. Users can collaborate or interact with remote participants or access cloud-based content, expanding the possibilities of MR.
10. Context Awareness: MR systems aim to be context-aware, meaning they understand the user's surroundings and adapt digital content accordingly. This vector involves sensors and algorithms that recognise objects, people, and the environment's context.
11. Application Ecosystem: The availability of MR applications and experiences is crucial. The ecosystem of software and content available for mixed reality devices influences their utility and adoption.
These vectors collectively contribute to the overall mixed reality experience. As technology advances, the blending of physical and digital worlds becomes more seamless, offering exciting opportunities for various fields, including gaming, education, healthcare, and industrial applications.
How Are Vectors Used In Transformation
In mathematics and computer science, vectors play a crucial role in various transformations, particularly in linear algebra and geometry. Vectors can be used to represent points, directions, and transformations themselves. Here's how vectors are used in transformations:
1. Translation:
- A translation is a transformation that moves every point in a vector space by a fixed distance in a specified direction. To represent a translation, you can use a vector that indicates the direction and magnitude of the translation. Adding this vector to each point in the space effectively translates all points.
2. Scaling:
- Scaling is a transformation that enlarges or shrinks objects. To perform a scaling transformation, you can use a scaling factor represented as a scalar value. Multiplying each coordinate of a vector by this scalar scales the object accordingly.
3. Rotation:
- Rotation transformations are used to change the orientation of objects. Vectors can represent points or directions in the space. To rotate a vector or point, you can use rotation matrices or trigonometric functions to transform the coordinates based on the desired rotation angle.
4. Shearing:
- Shearing transformations skew objects along specific axes. This skewing effect can be described using shear matrices. Vectors can be used to specify the shearing factors along different axes.
5. Projection:
- Projection transformations are commonly used in computer graphics and computer vision. Vectors are employed to project points from a higher-dimensional space onto a lower-dimensional space. This is often used in perspective transformations for rendering 3D scenes onto a 2D screen.
6. Affine Transformations:
- Affine transformations are combinations of translation, rotation, scaling, and shearing. These transformations are often represented using matrices, where vectors are multiplied by transformation matrices to achieve the desired effect.
7. Homogeneous Coordinates:
- Homogeneous coordinates are an extension of regular Cartesian coordinates that allow for the representation of transformations as matrix multiplications. Vectors in homogeneous coordinates are augmented with an extra coordinate, typically set to 1. This enables more flexible transformations and simplifies matrix multiplication.
8. Composite Transformations:
- Complex transformations can be created by combining multiple simple transformations. This is done by applying a sequence of transformations, each represented by its respective vector or matrix, to a given object or point.
Vectors, with their ability to represent directions, positions, and transformations, serve as a fundamental tool for expressing and computing various geometric and mathematical transformations. They provide a concise and efficient way to describe how objects and points change in space, making them essential in fields such as computer graphics, computer vision, robotics, and physics.
The Misinformation Minefield:
Generative AI has an eerie ability to churn out content so convincing that it can blur the line between reality and fiction. Think deepfake videos and fabricated articles that spread like wildfire. When users are deeply immersed in mixed reality, it's easy for them to get lost in this labyrinth of deception. The result? Confusion, mistrust, and anxiety. Who can blame them when the content is nearly indistinguishable from the truth?
Filter Bubbles and Echo Chambers:
You know those social media algorithms that seem to know you better than you know yourself? Generative AI fuels them, creating personalized content based on your preferences and beliefs. It might sound cozy at first, but in mixed reality, it's like being stuck in a never-ending digital bubble. Breaking free from these echo chambers becomes challenging, and users may find themselves isolated from diverse perspectives. Radicalization and extremism are real dangers in these secluded digital spaces.
Mental Health on the Line:
Now, let's talk about mental health. The AI-driven world of social media in mixed reality is a parade of perfection. Everything is idealized, from images to lifestyles. For users, this can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's inspiring. On the other, it can shatter self-esteem into pieces. The constant exposure to these unreal standards can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, depression, and even body image disorders.
Conclusion:
While the gaming industry has undoubtedly brought countless positive changes and generations of joy, it's essential to keep an eye on the newly forming digital realm. Generative AI is a double-edged sword, capable of creating both wonders and nightmares.
In mixed reality, it poses real risks to users' psychology, from misinformation to mental health struggles.
This blog post scratches the surface of a complex issue. It's not meant to undermine the gaming industry's contributions or the years of research that have gone into it. Instead, it serves as a reminder that as we march forward into these immersive digital landscapes, we must also tread carefully. Striking a balance between embracing the benefits of generative AI and safeguarding users from its detrimental effects is crucial for a healthier digital future.
Let's not forget that while we're in this brave new world, we should keep our wits about us. Is the system still nudging to re-enforce positive behavioural patterns?
[Insert MAS 'call and response' clip]