GoKawiilMeow Wolf's Las Vegas installation, Omega Mart, is one of many that already exist. What comes next for immersive experiences? We'll talk about it in Austin. Scott Stein/CNET
It's my first trip to Austin, or to SXSW: My only previous one was a virtual fireside chat with Meta's Mark Rabkin during the pandemic in 2021. While my colleagues, including Macy Meyer, are already there, I'm flying in Saturday and staying until next Wednesday.
I'm expecting to get more than my fill of AI discourse and good BBQ, but I have other missions there, too. For one, I'm part of a panel with Meow Wolf and Niantic Spatial called Reality Hacked: Tech, Story, and the Future of Experience. Meow Wolf Founder Vince Kladubek and Niantic's Dennis Hwang will be discussing the experiments with AR and tech infusions that are being explored in Meow Wolf's current and future installations, along with Kati Murphy and me.
I've been fascinated with Meow Wolf's immersive work for years, and its future LA and New York locations are still in development. But right now, experimenting with tech and AI and AR in contained art installations feels like the best way to explore and challenge ideas that smart glasses, AI wearables, and even robots are aspiring to. Physical AI is trying to make the real world and AI blend, and augmented reality is another facet of that puzzle. I just visited another immersive experience in Philadelphia, The Ministry of Awe, that blended some aspects of AI interfaces into its exhibits. Everyone's trying to figure out what the possibilities are and how to do it in safe pieces.
I'm also going to dive into some VR and AR experiences there, and look at whatever emerging tech I can find. I'm also hunting down neurotech, an area I expect to keep growing as sensors like EMG and EEG, and eye-tracking cameras, evolve into more wearables.
The biggest question I have about AI right now is how its interfaces should evolve for new devices and apps, wearable and otherwise. Besides the slop it puts out, AI feels sloppy to access. No glasses or wearables I've seen have gotten the idea of an "AI interface" right. Are ideas ready to emerge, or is it still too soon?
I'll keep popping back in with more thoughts and things I see as I find them. Also on the hunt for immersive activations at SXSW, too.