Ode to Spatial Computing

Grappling with nuance

"So what do you do?"

Here we go again. Yet another chance to nail that fateful question.

"Spatial computing? So... you put computers in space?"

…

I stare back blankly as my mind races through my options:

Option 1: "Exactly!" ... and just go on living my life.

Option 2: Capitulate, take the conversationally safe route, and god forbid, fall to the lowest common denominator within common parlance: virtual reality. Or worse... the metaverse.

…

No. I know how this ends. I leave feeling dirty and impure, knowing I've done our industry, no, the world, a disservice. I can't become part of the problem.

Option 3: Expand the scope a bit. Go with AR/VR.

But we know where this leads... they hear the A and immediately associate with one thing.

"Oh cool, AI. Like ChatGPT?" 

(hands in face emoji)

"No no, augmented reality and virtual reality.

"What's the difference?"

*Sigh. That'll be the the day. When I no longer have to explain the distinction, my job here will be done.

Until then...

"Well there's actually a spectrum of immersion." I can see it now, her eyes glazing over as I hit her with the sci-fi version of Bubba explaining shrimp recipes to Forest Gump.

"So VR puts you into an entirely virtual world, and then AR brings virtual things into our world, and then XR covers the full spectrum of immersive experience, which is some times interchangeable with MR (mixed reality), which is also just a fancy version of AR, and, and, and."

No, I'll spare myself yet another reminder of how early we still are, and how commercially/socially irrelevant (relative, that is, to our new dominant friend whizzing up the Gartner hype cycle, armed to the teeth with millions of users, billions in capital inflows, and trillions in total addressable market. Must be nice, AI!)

Option 4: Stand my ground, fight the good fight, and give her the good ol' fashion 'Ode to Spatial' spiel.

"Not quite... You see, spatial computing is human-computer interaction coming full circle, mapping itself back to its original creators and back to nature.

It's the complete evolution of computer science, crawling out of the primordial goo of basic one and zeros, dusting off the inanimate blink of the command line, denouncing the abstract symbology of the GUI, and coming to its final resting place as a mirror of the mind; a mirror that can either recreate or conform to this reality, and in doing so, conform to the way our minds have evolved to understand the world; in three dimensions, with a sense of space and a sense of time.

Space and time. The fundamental building blocks of reality; at least the one we see, experience, and most thoroughly understand.

Together they produce one of our few inescapable truths: gravity.

Yes, indeed, gravity = spacetime and spacetime = gravity; that oh so stubborn and invisible fabric, incessantly reminding us of the limitations of this world and our place in it. Which brings us to our third variable: location.

Space, time, and location. The inputs of all inputs. The ultimate computational trio, holding the key to computing's final frontier: artificial general intelligence. For what is spatial data but 'world data', and what is true intelligence without a complete understanding of the world?

With world data we get context and with context we get to inject perceptual systems with maximum agency; displaying just the right information, at just the right time, in just the right place.

We're talking perceptual systems of all types, from humans, to robots, to cars, to the inevitable array of embodied machines that sprout up in between.

For us humans, spatial computing levels the playing field with our digital companions. We can properly hold their hands and let their whispers guide us, their musings inspire us, and their nudges remind us of who we really are and what we really want; for will the exhaust of our digital lives not empower them to know us better than we can possible know ourselves?

Most certainly. Self-image and self-delusion be damned.

Terrifying? Perhaps. But dare we fight the inevitability of evolution? Or do we flip it on its head and realize... this is how we get back to our tribal roots; to the traits and experiences that make us most human.

You see, spatial turns the screen from a barrier into a bridge; a bridge towards more connection via higher bandwidth communication, towards more knowledge via direct interaction with the thing itself, towards more creativity via limitless expression and imagination, towards increased saliency in any given moment; more deeply encoding newfound knowledge, new memories, and new relationships.

Perhaps we should also call it ‘salient computing’ and really throw people for a loop…

Regardless, I can blabber until I’m blue in the face. But as well all know, seeing is believing. You won’t understand until you try it for yourself. And when you do you will see… spatial computing is not about disappearing into a digital world. It's about digitally enhancing moments within the real world we all so adore.

As for our machines, well... they now have a bridge between silicon logic and human intuition. They also have a portal into our shared hallucination, which just might be our best shot at solving one of the grandest and most important mysteries of all: the mystery of human consciousness and its ultimate source.

Option 5: Snap out of the day dream and just give her the layman's version

"Haha no, it's not putting computers in space. Spatial computing is simply..."

And... too late. She's gone. Swept into another conversation and back to living her life.

Damn. Should have just said metaverse...

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