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Comment by patwolf | Hacker News Reader

I'm usually a fan of shiny new things, but this might be the first time I'll make an intentional effort to not buy something. I expect it's going to be fantastic, and using it for my development workstation would be amazing. However, I feel like this will be a net negative for humankind.

My kids will plead with me to get them one, and it will be easy to say no because it's so expensive. But with each successive generation it will get better and cheaper until I can no longer use cost as an excuse. My kids will explain to me that they have no way to interact with their friends because they all use it. I'm already dreading it.

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> However, I feel like this will be a net negative for humankind.

The sinking feeling hit me too.

I'm well aware of how my usage of computers and technology, despite how well they've served me professionally, have absolutely caused me to be a more isolated human being. Spending times on online forums were fun... but frankly, I shouldn't've been hanging out there, and instead been developing my social skills with my peers.

But now having conversations with others while my AI eyes signal to them that I am totally listening?

Sitting in an empty room watching a TV? Or worse, sitting in a room with someone else, both of us strapped up with a headset to watch something, which we have to sync through the internet.

I mean, one of the demos was a parent sitting with one of these things strapped to their face so they could record a 3D Video of their kids. Instead of, you know, being with their kids.

VR/AR was already here, but now Apple have made it real. Not looking forward to this.

I agree, the tech is amazing but it’s definitely not something I want to see becoming the norm :(.

In 10-15 years it’s going to get so advanced it will all be integrated into a pair of glasses. Then into a pair of contact lenses. Neuralink will probably try to leapfrog and have AR/VR surgically implanted.

The one thing I really want and like VR for is Thrill of the Fight boxing simulator. VR games in general are really fun.

It's funny, I've noticed that this seems to be a common sentiment among the HN crowd. Maybe spending so much time with tech has made us more aware of its downsides.

think if it was just like wearing glasses though. It would be far less intrusive

Apple says kids younger than 13 shouldn't use the product. Another excuse for you :)

For now.

Think it's pretty reasonable to assume these things become integrated with childhood over time in the same way other screens have.

> However, I feel like this will be a net negative for humankind.

I'm hoping things like this are just humanity's awkward first steps at augmenting our anatomy with tech. And after decades (or centuries) of withering our bodies (and often minds) with these myopic goggles, mobile internet terminals, and isolating earplugs, we'll make the jump to retinal HUDs, language skill implantation, and whatever else. The only thing I'm sure of is that we won't be the same species anymore.

I was cringing at the parts of the keynote talking about reliving the memories (... because they were in la-la VR land). Just no!

However, I think this will be a breakthrough for at-home therapy sessions due to the immersive nature of the device.

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