A company this big needs to address most, if not all, people. The need for escapist leisure activity is something only relatively privileged people have. You only have to look at Google Glass to see what that limited appeal does to a product. It's a valid commercial consideration.
Yeah but the language used here makes it seem like white male product managers can't relay compelling visions for Magic Leap's future which isn't necessarily a correct statement.
The implication is that the PM in question was trying to advance their career on meritocracy grounds, while the other PMs get by on connections. I'm reminded of Theranos' extremely well-connected board.
I don't think there would be anything wrong with trying to market Leap as a gaming peripheral, but that implies a much smaller valuation, so ...
It seems like a cheap grab for article attention, piggy backing on the current political climate, and not a genuine analysis on why ML is failing to come up with inventive AR usecases. It cheapens the point the article could have made, but fails to explore at all: Diversity is needed to develop a product that appeals to everyone.
Instead of indulging the sense of alarm you get from this sort of (very mild) scrutiny, try to get outside of your ego and consider that this feeling you have is others' normal state of existence. You'll adapt better as demographics change and the wheel turns, and introspection is good for you.
Smile more, and stop being so emotional. /s
I'd call this article out just the same if it was calling out black women or lesbian Latinos.
How about instead, let's ask journalists to meet a bar of treating all classes of people equally, and not making pointless comments about someone's race and gender.
people are more complicated than race and gender
"White male culture" is a thing, but it's easy to be white and not aware of that if you take it for granted and/or think of it as "the default". (As an analogy, you might think you don't have "an accent" because you think of yours as the "normal" one.)
There are certainly groups that lament "black male culture", with varying political views. On the left, you might find that criticism in views like intersectional black feminism against "misogynoir" - macho behaviour and chauvinism especially by black men.
On the the political right, criticism of "black male culture" hardly needs naming.
I really don't know what "white male culture" you are referring to.
Google Glass did not fail because it lacked a diverse perspective. It failed because it was a garbage product, way too expensive, early, and with no compelling functionality. (I feel the same way about HoloLens at it's current stage. I have not tried Magic Leap.)
Also, the diverse take was: "who spoke to me convincingly about a world freed from the tyranny of browser tabs, where you could ‘leave’ web pages in physical spaces where you’d need them; recipes in the kitchen, research articles in the office". That seems to me to be a far more 'privileged' use case than escapist entertainment.
Are you kidding? Escapist leisure activities is one of the most broadly consumed forms of entertainment. Have you ever heard of TV or movies?