After reading Castronova’s article about synthetic worlds, I really agreed with some of the points about immersing oneself in virtual worlds. It was a great way to start off the article to make the point about how we should not have to care about the ogres and elves in cyberspace rather we should care about their existence in these games and that we should consider virtual world on a “macro-level.” I read this article not to realize that there are these technological phenomena but to understand what all AI’s can do for us users beyond the basic built-in functions. I know that there are magical worlds and realistic cyberspaces that are mirrored reflections of reality but what I was most interested in was the cultural aspect of it all and how these innovations can go change our lifestyles.
Castronova mentioned some fairly new technologies and potential concepts that would affect us all in synthetic worlds. For example, even though we have online shopping in cyberspace, the article made me realize that it could go beyond this setting and allow our avatars which can be our replicated self to actually try on the clothes to see what it would look like. Not only would 3D shopping affect the economy both in virtual world and real world, it would also change consumers into prosumers, changing the way we function in Earthbound settings. Our cultural norm would consist of 3D shopping, we wouldn’t need to go out to ever try on any items allowing us to explore a new and convenient dimension.
The article also mentions another technology that can help incorporate our synthetic world into our real daily lives. I loved the example about “Meemaw” being able to see her family members through her lenses allowing her to interact with her grandchildren and kids who are 600 miles away. Synthetic worlds can help bring people closer together if they want, and this would change the way people interact in our futuristic society. If we are visually stimulated in our synthetic world we can feel like we are in our “earth bodies.”
There are some consequences to these developments however, Meemaw can lose her sense of reality. There is the potential for people to blur the line between synthetic and real life, which can harm not only other people around them but their earth bodies as well because we would neglect the basic art of living. While there’s a progressive development of digital convergence with out “bodies,” whether its 3D shopping or wearing a gadget to connect us into our synthetic spaces to potentially replace our real life lifestyles, some people may not be willing to adapt to these replacements or changes. It made me think of the Kindle, how while some who are into ebooks will love this new gadget, people like me, who prefer the texture of a traditional book would not be as appreciative about the Kindle product. Some users may not want to see their family via their glasses because it lacks the physicality of life.
Andrejevic’s article about 3D of iCulture was also an interesting read because I think it really relates to our society now, I really do believe we live in an iCulture. When I read the example about Nike id and one prosumer who wanted to get “sweatshop” customized on his shoe and Nike refusing to manufacture it, It reminded me of culture jamming. I believe that the more iCommerce we become with allowing us to be part of the production and as we give free market research for companies, there are more opportunities for culture jammers to challenge this system.
What I found most entertaining and shockingly creepy about iMonitoring was the example about the “Forget-me-Not” panties. I never heard of this prank before but it really made me think about the endless possibilities of surveillance. If we already have all these different ways to hack and track people online, and if we can create outrageous worlds and avatars online etc, I worry that silly concepts like Forget me Not panties could really be possible. We see that there are ways to monitor each other easily. Hanging up the phone and hoping he doesn’t call back is not even possible in our time. This made me think about how lucky we are, at least for now, that Facebook hasn’t officially created a “stalker” app because then we’d all be in trouble; we could no longer be that phone caller who hung up. I’m sure just as the the phone created a monitoring system, social media will soon develop this iMonitoring concept as well if it hasn’t already.
The Forget me Not panties also brings about the idea that people are developing technology to integrate it closer to our bodies. I wonder if were already making technology that can detect our body temperatures how soon will it be when we get chips injected in each of us and become walking avatars Earth bound?!
