We had virtual reality, and augmented reality, and now we also have fake reality. I think it is not too bold to predict that the rise of fake news, together with the rise of greedy venture capital, in the face of potentially break-through technologies, will only create the conditions for fake tech.
Keep calm. Here’s a check guide to help you interpret “what you are seeing”, by courtesy of The Register: If Company X is doing any of these, it’s time to become suspicious:
- Refusing to give a launch date.
- Refusing to talk about the tech, claiming confidentiality or trade secrets.
- Using news of investments or hires as evidence of technological progress.
- Promoting itself on a big stage rather than in a small room.
- Offering a well-crafted message and vision but becoming immediately vague when pushed on actual details.
- Offering “exclusive access” – with restrictions.
- Confusing working hard with making progress.
And remember, we already knew it: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic (Leap)
[…] I do not mean the deliberate, criminal promotion of uncertainty, but the much more widely spread fake-tech, vapour-ware that suffocates science and technology […]
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