#beyourownrobot

[sndrv]

How to split-up Facebook?

Thanks to the current Facebook scandal, we are critically reviewing the impact the company has on our society. And that's happening just in time. Facebook is about to transform from a social media company with indirect influence to an augmented reality company with direct in-your-face influence.

For decades we've been told that we will all be wearing augmented reality glasses in the future. But that future is getting near, because all big tech firms are getting ready for the launch of AR wearables. But besides being a more immersive way to view funny little animating characters, what will it mean if we're wearing a Facebook AR wearableIt will cause Mark Zuckerberg to even further control our perspective on the world. And we have reason to worry about that. We're not happy with the current influence of Facebook on our life, and it might get even worse in the future. The trouble is the black-box that's deciding what we get to see on our new feed and what not. Some configuration options exists, but these are too digital. Switching off is not really an option. We need more ways to configure Facebook to suit our needs and wishes. It's time to consider a split-up of Facebook.

If we want to understand why things appear on our news feeds, we need to be aware of our own meta data too. By monitoring where our own content and data ends up, we can choose if and how we allow any profiling to happen. Perhaps we only decide to keep Facebook for its front-end interface. If we're free to choose components, we can choose to avoid the untraceable Facebook algorithms, demand openness or pick a provider of a Machine Learning service that we trust. If it's such an influential instrument in our life, it makes sense to know exactly which rules are active. But as with human life, there are always exceptions to any rule. If we're able to finetune the rules with our own personalized exceptions, the rule base can become really meaningful.

The need for transparency and freedom to choice is getting more relevant and urgent, because companies like Facebook are going to play a more prominent role in our life. We're already getting used to the smartphone as our personal assistant, guiding us towards appointments, even responsible for arranging some of our activities. But with AR devices this guidance will continue during our activities too. The classic example is dating, which will become highly efficient and effective if we're being mentored throughout a date based on real-time analysis of data coming from connected wearables such as our heartrate sensors or fitness watches. With bulky uncomfortable devices that seems highly unprobable, but some new AR devices have a regular size and look. The big tech companies can't wait for this future of the connected human. They are getting ready and filing numerous patents. There will be a lot of new bussiness opportunities for them, being able to guide the behavior of people. With the help of an AR device, we can do everything ourselves. But what kind of DIY world is that going to be?

Looking at this in a schematic view, it's clear that something is not right. Tech companies using us and our data to be able to control us. It's time for an approach with humans at the centre, and an API to help us to be the one making decisions - and having options to choose from! With a growing ecosystem of life enhancing apps, services and components, we can choose how we want to be guided through the day. 

IFTHISTHENI.COM is an initiative that aims to be a hands-on way to explore the approach described earlier. With just a few basic rules, this system will not be comparable to the advanced algorithms of the big influential social media companies, but it's a start. Instead of awaiting what will happen to us, it's better to get started with the creation of alternatives. We've already gotten accustomed to devices and software monitoring us and telling us how we're doing, this system is no different. Not feeling happy? By knowing what makes you happy, you're able to change it by reconfiguring yourself. Get ready for the future: BE YOUR OWN ROBOT!

https://www.slideshare.net/sanderveenhof/how-to-splitup-facebook

[outdoorvr]

The influence of software on our life keeps growing. Devices are telling us what to do and  how we're doing. But instead of just reading about the risks of incomprehensible AI and machine learning controlling us, it's time to do something about it. So I've launched this initiative: http://ifthistheni.com It's still very basic, but the fundament is there. Define the rules that define you!

[beyourownrobot]

There's a patent war going on. Day by day we're seeing new black and white sketches on our social media timelines revealing inventions for our future world. The general response is often wildly enhusiastic. In the imagination people have the inventions in the hands already, even though the announced products are far from being a consumer product yet and some never make it to being released at all. Companies argue that the mechanism is a requirement to do bussiness, either selling the product or selling the patent. Companies labeled "patent trolls" focus on dealing fictional patents only, never with the intention to release an actual product. 

It's a playing field of big bussinesses and it seems to be relevant for those working in the hi-tech world only, but the current stream of patents is different. They apply to us, humans, in a radical new way. Many of the recent patent filing deal with augmented reality and are meant for a future in which we're wearing augmented reality headsets, not viewing AR through a smartphone screen. AR might move on from being "the gimmick" it has been called for a decade, but it is going to impact the way we see the world and interact with objects and other people. Devices like the abandoned Google Glass, the Microsoft Hololens and the upcoming Apple AR product all connect to the cloud to show us annotations on what we're see and instructions on what to do.

But are these devices also going to tell us what not to do? Because the cloud we're connected to doesn't own the right patents or is not willing to pay for them? Human behaviour cannot, but robot behaviour can be patented. What about the semi-digital beings we're slowly becoming with the increasing amount of technical devices we're keeping close to our body? Our smartphones, wearables and smartwatches alerting us when there's an occasion to put on our AR or VR headsets. We are the robot of the future. But what about patents applicable to our semi-digital behaviour, steered by instructions appearing in augmented reality? Perhaps our behaviour will not be blocked, but certain features or instructions could be missing from the interface. I once looked up the reason why I cannot search for an app on the homescreen of my Samsung: a patent by Apple. Losing some features is not what the big companies will worry about, and it's only slightly annoying for us as consumers. But the current series of patents in augmented reality will define the limitations we'll experience during our interactions in the real world. 

One sample semi-fictional patent is features in this concept video above of a Hololens app. The aim of developing the prototype is to experience and explore this future scenario in search of preemptive solutions to these preemptive problem descriptions.