Weiser’s ubiquitous computing framed virtual reality as a mere map, not the territory
Evidence
Weiser understood that the virtual world could never be more than a shadow land no matter how much data it absorbs: “Virtual reality is only a map, not a territory. It excludes desks, offices, other people… weather, trees, walks, chance encounters and, in general, the infinite richness of the universe.” He wrote that virtual reality “simulates” the world rather than “invisibly enhancing the world that already exists.” In contrast, ubiquitous computing would infuse that real world with a universally networked apparatus of silent, “calm,” and voracious computing. Weiser refers to this apparatus as the new “computing environment” and delights in the possibilities of its limitless knowledge, such as knowing “the suit you looked at for a long time last week because it knows both of your locations, and it can retroactively find the designer’s name even though that information did not interest you at the time.” — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 619
Categorization
- DEFINE: Weiser’s map/territory distinction defines the design philosophy behind ubiquitous computing — enhancing real space rather than simulating it.
- QUESTION: Zuboff’s framing of Weiser as benign seems to set up a contrast with surveillance capitalism; worth watching how she shows the appropriation.
- XREF: connects to: Schmidt’s famous remark merely restated Weiser’s 1991 ubiquitous-computing vision — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 618; Computers fail at the rich texture of ordinary lived experience — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 1023
Broader Connections
- Computers fail at the rich texture of ordinary lived experience
#complicates(0.80) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 1023