The Ultimate Promise of Spatial Computing

Exploring the future of mental & emotional wellbeing

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This is a deep dive into our favorite topic here at Medium Energy — how external technology can hack our internal technology to change how we think, act, and feel.

I'm talking about feelings that are the essence of being human; feelings like awe, curiosity, surprise, and flow; each representing a powerful lever for mental & emotional wellbeing.

Anecdotally, these states make us feel more present, more empathetic, and more alive. But empirically, their health benefits have been relegated to pseudo-science, lacking academic rigor, evidence, and institutional support.

Fortunately, this is starting to change. With advances in tech and neuroscience, we can now prove how these experiences rewire us for the better, improving our health and helping us flourish in all kinds of ways. In the wake of these findings, a new field within neuroscience is emerging to study what sparks our 'inner tech' most. Turns out, it's one of the most human things we do: the arts, and more broadly, aesthetic experiences.

This new field is called neuroaesthetics, or for the more romantically inclined, the 'neuroarts'. In a sentence, neuroarts is the study of how the human brain and body responds to aesthetic experience, and how those experiences can be applied to mental health.

Upon researching, I have a new favorite thesis...

Spatial computing will be the ultimate unlock for the neuroarts. One of the most shining examples I've seen to date is a startup called TRIPP.

First and foremost, TRIPP is a wellness and meditation company. But they're also a technology company, using spatial computing and artificial intelligence to help us prioritize mental wellbeing and become the best version of ourselves.

At a surface level, you can think of TRIPP as the Headspace or the Calm of spatial computing. At a deeper level, and when you try the app for yourself, you quickly see that it's so much more...

Their progress to date reflects another core Medium Energy thesis: that we can harness the power of tech to combat its own afflictions. Which is where we'll start this journey— with the problem at hand.

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The Problem

It's official.

We’ve arrived at the knee of the exponential curve.

This ascent holds so much promise: abundance, prosperity, the cosmos; the holy grails of our compounded intellectual intelligence.

Yet, our intellectual progress contrasts starkly with our emotional progress. This curve is flat and we remain as emotionally illiterate as our ancestors 5,000 years ago.

The divergence between these two lines is unsustainable. We need a way to bring them closer together; to innovate not just technologically, but emotionally, for the balance between heart and mind is no longer a nice to have. It's become essential. Without it, we're heading towards a consequence we can't yet grasp.

Sadly, we're already well on our way... We’ve all seen these stats and trends. Mental health is one of the defining plagues of our time.

So many of us are walking around in a fog, gripped by existential angst and searching for hope within a tiny rectangle in our pocket.

Perhaps the answer to all our problems will arrive in that next text, that next email, or that next tweet. Perhaps we’ll wake up to riches in Coinbase or thousands of new followers on TikTok. Or perhaps that next swipe will produce the life partner of our dreams... Oh please, won't this damn screen give us something, anything to reaffirm some progress? Some connection? Some relevance in this noisy digital-first world?

Sure, ‘information technology’ offers opportunity and hope in so many forms. But it’s also causing forms of self-hypnosis; trances of anxiety and depression, incessant mental loops powered by obsession with self, conceived of made up stories about our individual problems and abilities, or about our futures and perceived pasts.

Why? Because we’re over stimulated, over connected, and drowning in a deluge of (mostly unnecessary) information. Our favorite apps act now as real-time leader boards of who (apparently) matters and who doesn’t, creating a lens of perpetual competition and comparison.

This malaise reminds me of a quote from author Walker Percy:

“The search is what anyone would undertake if they were not sunk in the everydayness of their own lives. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be on to something, and not to be on to something is to be in despair.”- Walker Percy

Amidst the digital cacophony, we've become ‘sunk in the everydayness’ of our own lives, forgetting who we are, what we’re capable of, and what makes us truly happy. Our awareness of ‘the possibility of the search' has been dulled...

While the consequences have been dire, they're sure to pale in comparison to what will come next if we don't adapt. This is the defining challenge of our time: the pursuit of new methods for navigating & shaping the landscape of our inner cosmos.

Fortunately, numerous companies have emerged to pursue exactly this, and they're attacking it from numerous angles; from biometrics and wearables, to wellness & meditation, to communities & retreats. While each has its merits, I find TRIPP to be the most compelling, especially over the long term. Largely because it has an opportunity to unify pieces from all of the above.

To understand how, let's take a stroll into the future...

The Vision

It's been a long day.

You finally get home and plop down on the couch, exasperated from all the ups and mostly downs. Pick your affliction: a work project gone awry, a sick and aging parent, a child struggling in school, financial woes. (We'll go with the most broadly relatable: work)

As you settle in, a faint light starts pulsing on your smart watch: a reminder to check your 'mood score'.

The charts have gone haywire. Your stress & anxiety levels are spiking and your mood score is at a monthly low. A soothing voice purrs from the AR glasses in your shirt pocket.

"Welcome home. Seems like you had quite the day... How are you feeling? And what's on your mind?"

You lay it all out. Just vocalizing it seems to help.

"I understand. Based upon what I'm hearing, I think I know exactly what will help. Why don't you join me in your sanctuary?"

You slip on the sleek glasses and switch into VR mode.

Suddenly, you're immersed. Not in an algorithmic, time sucking, social media doom scroll. But rather, a virtual room. It's a beautiful, expansive library, with floors & furniture made of glistening wood.

Your favorite books, art, and family photos adorn the walls around you, creating a sense of comfort, warmth, and ease. Except for the wall straight ahead. It's missing. In its place is an open balcony, overlooking a lush jungle canopy. The sounds of birds, monkeys, and critters of all types create a symphony of cheerful chirps and playful squeals.

This is just one of your many virtual retreats, AI generated based upon inputs from your own imagination and the data in a digital wallet; reflecting your values, your aspirations, and your dreams.

This place facilitates solitude and provides time to pause and process the storm of emotions, not numb them.

Within these initial minutes, time doesn't disappear into a black hole of diffuse attention. Time becomes an ally, producing a narrowed attention filled with intentionality and reflection.

Once you settle in, you click the TRIPP app. The library & jungle scene fades and you find yourself floating towards a pitch black horizon.

Some faint stars twinkle in the distance.

As you get closer, they expand into colorful galaxies, filled with rolling clouds of star dust: mesmerizing nebulas reflecting every color imaginable.

As you float through this cosmic array, you become awash in waves of soothing music, surrounding you entirely via spatial audio, wrapping you with a sense of calm. The music is tuned to high vibrational frequencies proven to heighten emotional states and soothe the nervous system. The melody is beautiful; a blend of ancient hymns and modern instrumentals.

The star dust then begins to spiral and concentrate into a sphere.

As the sphere takes shape, other users start to materialize around you; fellow road warriors with similar 'mood data' facing similar challenges. Just like a group fitness or yoga class, their presence creates a sense of belonging, accountability, and connection.

And now the session begins. A pleasant voice starts to guide you through a breathing exercise, instructing you to follow the rhythmic pulse of this sphere; slowly expanding and collapsing. It's in sync with the music, giving your breath just the right cadence, to produce just the right effect.

A subtle gong rings out, signaling the end. Your physical room slowly materializes and you glance at the clock. What felt like an hour was only 15 minutes. And what felt like an unbearable, existential angst, is now a hundred pounds lighter.

A message materializes from your partner, "Dinner is ready :-), XOXO"

Before heading downstairs, you think about your colleague at work, who is bearing the brunt of this disaster. You save the recently generated experience, navigate to the 'Community' page in the TRIPP app, and tap 'share with friend'.

You type out a note to go along with it, "This saved me today... Enjoy, and remember, it's just work :)"

That was the cherry on top: the feeling of paying it forward and helping someone else in need; digital altruism at its finest. As a reward, a little badge pops up and floats into your digital wallet icon: an acknowledgment of your gift and contribution to the TRIPP community.

You head down to dinner with your partner and kids, energized and eager to present a better, calmer, and more engaged version of yourself, successfully preserving the joys of family dinner.

And let's face it, it's these moments that are the real-world sanctuary we all want and need.

The Mission

This is TRIPP's end game. A world in which technology doesn't manipulate us for the worse, but shapes us for the better. This vision may seem 10+ years away, but it’s not. Experientially, most of it is here and now.

Sure, the AR glasses form factor could take that long. And yes, both digital wallets and personalized AI need a few years to mature. But the TRIPP app today offers these experiences in spades, spanning numerous categories, including Focus, Calm, Breath, Sleep, and Ascend. My favorite is Ascend, with content designed to shift the way you look at the world.

Much of this content is also customizable, which creates some real differentiation from alternative mindfulness apps. For example, you can create your own ‘TRIPP’ by mixing & matching your favorite audio/visual elements with your preferred breathing exercise. My go-to? Box breathing paired with an underwater experience, in which your surrounded by neon corral reef, glowing plant life, and the distant, echoing cry of a humpback whale.

via ChatGPT

These visuals and sounds gave me something to latch on to. Something to distract me from my sporadic thoughts. They helped me focus, maintain my breath, and feel more present; a stark contrast with my more bare-boned meditation experience: a black void of nothingness and the ultimate playground for my neurotic monkey mind to wreak havoc, unencumbered.

TRIPP's focus with these experiences is on the more... surreal. Other apps might provide personal sanctuaries like the library and jungle scene, but the more realistic sets + settings make it difficult to fully hack our 'inner tech'. Our brain isn't easily fooled by a virtual beach, waterfall, or mountain top. The lack of certain senses encourages the sense of disbelief (e.g. the smell of the ocean). This inhibits our ability to fully escape and become swept away by novelty, wonder, and awe.

But when you blast into the other worldly; into the unknown, the brain doesn’t have anything to compare it to. And that's when the magic happens.

But perhaps the real magic is just on the horizon, with the power of AI.

TRIPP just launched an AI companion that aims to know us better than we know ourselves, objectively and without bias. They call it Kōkua, which in Hawaiian is a spiritual word for support. More deeply, it means a selfless expression of care, where one person reaches out to lift another.

This AI is unique because it’s trained by 'mood data' from the wider TRIPP community. Today, this data is provided voluntarily by users before and after a TRIP session, of which they've recorded over 10 million 'TRIPPS' to date.

Tomorrow, this data will include biometric data, be it from your smart watch, headset, or other future wearables. These devices are already gathering a bevvy of signals about our mood/emotional state, including heart rate variability, body temperature, galvanic skin response, and blood volume pulse.

What I find most interesting, is that each time you do a session, you're contributing to a wider intelligence that will help support others with similar needs, taking the idea of a 'support group' to a whole new level.

As I write this, I can sense some eye rolls from the metaverse skeptics. And listen… I get the hesitation. But it's important to understand — these immersive experiences are not designed to pull us away from the real world we so adore. They're designed to help us better navigate our inner world and re-emerge as better versions of ourselves.

Versions with more resilience, more gratitude, and more empathy. Versions with more time for reflection, and in turn, lives lived with more intention.

To fully appreciate TRIPP's mission, it's also important to understand why these experiences matter, and how they impact our bodies and our minds. To do so, we'll turn to a budding field of neuroscience called Neuroaesthetics.

The Neuroarts

We've all felt the power of aesthetic experience: the sense of wonder from an artistic masterpiece, the raging curiosity during a magic show, or the dizzying awe from an explosive sunset.

Some way, some how, these moments hack our 'inner tech', i.e. the miraculous wiring and firing of our biology, physiology, and neurology; the milieu of feeling & subjective experience.

For most of our existence, these feelings were the stuff of mystics and artists. Too soft and too mysterious for the hard sciences.

But thanks to the Neuroarts, perhaps we should add an A to the acronym that is STEM. We can now prove that aesthetic experiences can improve mobility, memory, and speech. They can relieve pain and PTSD. They can enhance mental health and learning outcomes. They can even build resilience and prevent disease. (If you want to dive into the data & research, see here, here, and here).

At the helm of this movement is the NeuroArts Blueprint, a new organization formed by the Johns Hopkins International Arts & Mind Lab and the Aspen Institute. Leading this new organization is academic and author, Susan Magsamen. She’s their co-director and one of the world's leading neuroarts evangelists. Susan is also the founder and director of the International Arts & Mind Lab, which sits within the 'Center of Applied Neuroaesthetics' at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

If you want to explore further, here's an awesome podcast with Magsamen. She also wrote a terrific book with Ivy Ross, called "Your Brain On Art: How the Arts Transforms Us".

The book is well worth the read, but if I had to leave you with just one takeaway, it's the relationship between neuroplasticity and saliency. Particularly, how we can wield saliency to mold & knead our mind.

Neuroplasticity + Spatial Computing = Salient Computing

At the core of neuroarts is the study of how the aesthetic impacts neuroplasticity, aka the brain's ability to reorganize and adapt by forming new neural connections (or circuits). These neural circuits power our movements, emotions, and memories, from playing the piano to recalling knowledge, to developing our sense of self.

The strength of these new connections is determined by their saliency—the more emotionally or cognitively engaging the experience, the more potent the impact, underscored by the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine that cement these pathways. Moments like a first kiss, getting a dream job, or birthing a child are etched into our memories precisely because of this chemical release, heightening our ability to "know" and "remember."

Neuroarts has proven that aesthetic experiences are major conduits for saliency, rewiring our brains in profound ways. The more immersive and sensory the experience, the greater the impact. Enter spatial computing – a tool for saliency on-demand, i.e. a personalized interface for brain development.

This is why spatial computing matters and why TRIPP is on to something special. I believe spatial computing can be the ultimate saliency-producing tool, hence its power for use cases such as education, training, communication, and in this case... mindset & mood. Perhaps we should call it... 'Salient Computing'.

TRIPP: The Neuroarts in Practice

While the science is young, the Neuroarts is giving us the knowledge to turn the aesthetic into a tool.

TRIPP's spatial computing application is just one approach, but I'd argue it will become the most powerful, and over the fullness of time, the most accessible. In this future, medication, therapy, and self-help books will still have their role. But Tripp has figured out how to package up and deliver something more profound: moments.

These moments hold the key inputs for activating the aforementioned neurochemistry. The most potent being curiosity, novelty, and awe.

As important as the science is, we don't need data to convince us of the power of these feelings. Regardless, thanks to the neuroarts, that data is trickling in, starting with curiosity.

Psychologist and author, Todd Kashdan, wrote a book on the topic called, "Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life." The primary takeaway, per Kashdan... "Humans find intense, lasting fulfillment in seeking new knowledge, new experiences, and in embracing uncertainty. Choosing to explore the unknown rather than avoid it is key to a rich, meaningful life." In support, the book reveals data showing that when curiosity is satisfied, our brain releases dopamine, the neurotransmiter associated with pleasure and reward. This reinforces our desire to seek new knowledge and new experiences, something that spatial computing + AI can serve up in spades.

Closely linked to curiosity is the feeling of novelty & surprise, both of which stimulate activity in the hippocampus by releasing dopamine, as indicated in these two studies (Frontiers, Molecular Brain). They’re a fascinating glimpse into how dopamine conducts the hippocampal regions to adapt, learn, and thrive amidst the new and unknown; a critical skill in this new exponential world.

Perhaps the most profound feeling TRIPP experiences produce is awe: the expansive feeling of belonging to something greater than ourselves.

Humans are hardwired for awe. It's the sensation we all feel when we gaze up at the stars or get lost in the beauty of a rainbow.

From 'Your Brain on Art': "Awe can induce physical effects, such as a warmth in our chest or tears in our eyes, and trigger a flood of neurotransmitters that create ideal conditions for forming new neural connections. There is an evolutionary importance to awe. It encourages us to move forward with new ideas, with purpose and a sense of possibility."

Dacher Keltner, a leading expert in the science of awe, eloquently said, "A little dose of awe is transcendent."

This is no longer just mystical handwavey voodoo. It's being studied and quantified. Two research efforts standout. The first is this study from UC Berkely in Psychology Today.

Their key findings are as follows:

• Awe decreases activity in the brain's default mode network (DMN, that orchestrator of self-focus and rumination).

• This reduction in DMN activity suggests awe can quiet self-talk and calm the nervous system, similar to the effects of meditation and flow states.

• Awe can also decrease sympathetic activity and increase parasympathetic activity, indicating a physical relaxation response in the body.

• Awe contributes to a greater sense of well-being and fosters prosocial behavior, which further enhances individual and communal well-being.

This ultimate conclusion? Awe shifts our focus from the self to the vastness of the external world, creating a sense of connection and well-being, while promoting greater generosity and cooperation.

Towards this end, the researchers explore simple daily activities, such as taking an "awe walk" and intentionally noticing beauty in the world. Nature-based 'awe walks' will and should always be our first option. But 'awe on demand' via 'spatial/salient computing' could become the next best thing, with arguably more magic and tastefully curated forms of novelty, curiosity, and surprise.

The power of awe has also been quantified by researchers like Beau Lotto, who measured the neurobiological state of awe in audience members during  perhaps the most immersive, spell-binding, awe-inspiring live show on earth: Cirque du Soleil.

Cirque du Soleil

Over ten shows, Lotto and his team recorded the brain activity of more than two hundred audience members, correlating their data with pre and post-performance surveys.

Their findings were remarkable. The brain activity across audience members consistently aligned with the neurobiological state of awe. So much so, that Beau and his team were able to train an artificial neural network to predict whether people were experiencing awe with an average accuracy of 76 percent.

Lotto's study uncovered additional insights. From 'Your Brain on Art' (and this terrific TED Talk):

"People who are actively experiencing awe have less need for self-regulation and a higher tolerance for uncertainty. Their tolerance for risk also increased. 'They actually seek risk, and they are better able to face it' Beau recounted in a popular TED Talk in 2019. “Something that was really quite profound is that when we asked people, ‘Are you someone who has a propensity to experience awe?’ they were more likely to give a positive response after the performance than they were before.”

These elements – curiosity, novelty, and awe – they collectively contribute to what I think will be one of the first mainstream use cases for spatial computing: creating states of flow.

'Flow' has become a buzz word, but it remains the optimal human experience, where challenges and skills are perfectly balanced and we operate at our peak potential.

It's the state we've all experienced during a deep conversation, a lights out performance, or a burst of productivity. These moments spur what flow researcher/expert Steven Kotler's refers to as STER: Selflessness, Timeless, Effortless, and Richness (from his book on flow states called ‘Stealing Fire’, which is one of my most recommended reads).

To me, this is the ultimate promise of TRIPP; using cleverly designed environments and technologies to strategically trigger the 'flow circuitry' in the brain - hacking our neurochemistry to unlock dormant reservoirs of creativity, emotional intelligence, and psychological flexibility.

While virtually induced, I don't view these transcendent mind-states as disconnected from reality. They just might be the most real experiences we can have.

Facing our reality

Speaking of 'real'... we can also use the aesthetic and spatial computing to confront the challenging and uncomfortable parts of our collective or individual reality.

As Anjan Chatterjee, a neuroscientist and expert in the field, notes, "The arts and aesthetics encompass far more than just beauty. They offer emotional connection to the full range of human experience. The arts can be more than just sugar on the tongue. In art, when there's something challenging, which can also be uncomfortable, this discomfort, if we're willing to engage with it, offers the possibility of some change, some transformation. That can also be a powerful aesthetic experience."

In 'Your Brain on Art', the authors point to Picasso's "Guernica" and Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun"; both powerful examples of how art can confront difficult themes like war, racism, and discrimination, while also offering profound emotional connections and opportunities for personal growth.

Picasso’s Guernica

Moreover, spatial computing will be the ultimate storytelling machine, allowing us to explore and rewrite the narratives we tell ourselves – arguably the most important story of all.

As Tyler VanderWeele's research at Harvard has shown, one of the keys to a flourishing mindset is imagining one's best potential self by shifting personal narratives toward more positive frames.

These stories determine how we contextualize our lives and experiences. But unearthing and reframing them can be a challenge; yet another opportunity for spatial computing and a potential future use case for TRIPP.

Virtual worlds might not be for everybody, but they will offer something fundamental we can all benefit from: the ability to embody different avatars and roles, hacking our sense of identity and perspective through the power of immersive roleplaying.

As Meryl Streep eloquently stated, "Acting is not about being someone different. It's about finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there."

Falling back on science, according to this study on ‘perspective taking’, the act of inhabiting such a role can result in "neural changes in networks associated with perspective-taking, empathy, and identity shifts",

As a fun example, imagine showing up to a virtual gathering as a stick of butter.

No seriously. Close your eyes and imagine it. How would you feel? How would you behave?

You'd probably feel a bit more carefree. A bit more loose, silly, and light. And that's exactly what a real person reported during a virtual PTSD support-group meet up in VRChat. They turned their avatar into a stick of butter and it transformed their ability to let go of their trauma, connect with others, and show up in a more open and maleable way.

You…

This is just a glimpse into how spatial computing and apps like TRIPP can become powerful tools for personal growth and self-discovery.

Conclusion

So, whether it’s drifting through outer space, or embodying your favorite edible accoutrement, the combo of spatial and AI is going to open up a limitless canvas for transformative experiences.

In the same way we meditate to create a sense of calm, or hit the treadmill to boost serotonin/endorphins, we'll be able to easily tap into curiosity, novelty, and awe; all by simply slipping on glasses for a 10/20 minute aesthetic experience, combining the best of meditation, mindfulness, and perhaps one day, even physical movement and play.

This will be possible from any place, at any moment, with anyone... no matter their location in the world.

And herein lies spatial computing's endgame: the ability to have these salient experiences together.

Because after the neurochemicals, the next best thing they can produce is a conversation… a deeper, more meaningful conversation; about what comes up, what it means, and how to change, all while supporting each other along the way.

Because only one thing about our external world is certain... Not only will change remain a constant, but it’s about to get an exponential multiplier. Of this, there is no doubt.

Our internal world will need a massive upgrade to keep up, but this time, we'll do so from the inside out.

If you made it this far… thank you for reading! I’m beyond grateful for the time and effort. And if you enjoyed, please subscribe below and consider sharing with a friend or two… Appreciate your support in helping us spread a more positive vision for the future!