The Frontier Psychiatrists often undertake sillier or more satirical writing on the weekend. This weekend is not an exception.
I went and tried the new Apple Vision Pro. I have previously recommended its use to resurrect Dr. William Osler as a psychedelic medicine spokesperson. I went with my son. Of note, the age limit on the in-store experience is 13 years old. My son isn’t yet 8. This was a bitter disappointment. Few 8-year-olds will drop $3500 on this…but what do I know?
Everything other reviewers say is true: It’s probably too heavy for my 8-year-old’s neck. It was heavy on my face after 30 min, as was some neck strain. This will make it not a productivity tool unless you are in the “neck workout set.” It’s profoundly lonely in there.
However, from a psychological standpoint, the use case that makes the most sense to me is profoundly antisocial. I am also accepting funding for this new company right now. I call my new VisionOS app…
“Delete You”
The idea is simple. Take all the fancy augmented reality—sorry, spatial computing device— Apple just built... Now, instead of adding Zoom, dinosaurs, or productivity apps to your field of view…what if you could delete someone? Feed it some photos of a person you hate. Maybe you have a stalker?
A least preferred work colleague? A…Mansplainer? Allow the “Delete You” AI to delete them from your world. You could go anywhere, and the offending entity wouldn’t be there. It’s like a digital restraining order from your reality…you can block people from your conscious experience.
It’s profoundly antisocial! Or a good workaround. Maybe everyone is, in your world, a panda in your workplace instead of…unpleasant to look at. With your new Cyclops tech, you can edit people in or out (visually) as you see fit. Welcome to Delete You…Delete the parts of reality that need to go. They don’t need to know…