Tag: Technology
Google Glass and the Advancement of the Subjective Lens
by admin on Sep.20, 2012, under Editorials, The Integral Cinema Project, The Transpersonal Cinema Project
The recent video (above) created by the partnership between Fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg and Google using Google’s new Google Glass augmented reality glasses, suggests that this emerging convergence technology has the potential to transform how movies are made. This transformation appears to not just be about the extreme portability and non-intrusive nature of the technology, which are in themselves great advances, but this new wearable camera may very well bring us into the realm of experiencing a much more powerful subjective lens experience…bringing the subjective eye-line closer into alignment. Time will tell…but this tech looks to be full of potential in both the personal and professional movie-making and viewing space.
In addition to the potential shift in the movie making and viewing experience, there is the added dimension here of how having technology closer to our being, both physically and perceptually will effect our consciousness. The convergence of human and technology spaces has been and continues to be a topic of both inspiration and trepidation…are we evolving into a new form…the transhuman….and heading toward a new age marked by a profound techno-human shift that Ray Kurzweil calls the Singularity…or are we creating further distance and disassociation between our selves, each other and the world…for me, I see this movement as an advance like all other advances, filled with both potential blessings and challenges…for now…this looks like fun…
Steve Jobs and the Evolution of Consciousness and Technology
by admin on Dec.08, 2011, under Editorials
There is an extensive body of research that suggests that there are distinct evolutionary stages of individual and collective human consciousness, and that these stages co-evolve with developmental stages of techno-economic system growth. One of the scales used for these correlated stages was put forth by American philosopher and psycho-social researcher Ken Wilber. This scale correlates the Mythic, Rational, Pluralistic, and Integral stages of human and cultural consciousness with the techno-economic stages of the Agricultural, Industrial, Informational, and now the emerging Convergence Age.
As individual humans in all spheres (science, technology, art, philosophy, etc.) evolve through the various stages of consciousness, their created works reflect these stages and act as catalysts for the evolution of the consciousness of other individuals and their cultures and societies. Along this co-evolutionary path, there have been and continue to be certain individuals who are major contributors to this process, including Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Rene Descartes, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Sigmund Freud, among many others.
Since the recent passing of Steve Jobs, there have been many who have commented on his profound influence on our world, and on his possible ranking with some of these other evolutionary-influencing individuals. I believe they are correct in this assessment, because the technological devices that Steve Jobs helped to create and share with the world are, on the most basic level, powerful and elegant convergence devices.
