Samsung is placing some big bets on augmented reality, with the goal of coming out with LEDoS-powered AR glasses as early as 2027. The potential is enormous. Imagine this scenario—you’re walking along the sidewalk. Suddenly, historical interpreters hover above the buildings, and real-time translations of foreign language signs appear in front of them. Do we really want to be so easily knocked off our feet by this idealism? In our haste, are we not reckoning with the human cost of this entirely-too-rapid march towards a digitally mediated reality?

Funding from the tech world Market hype has the tech world excited about this emerging market, which is projected to reach several trillion dollars. What's missing from this conversation? The everyday person. The very person who may not appreciate having yet another screen competing for his attention. Whoever it was that first told us all to be afraid of technology eroding our genuine human connection. These are the voices being lost in the AR story, and it’s these voices that we need to put center-stage.

Think about it. We're already glued to our phones. Are we really prepared to exchange our physical reality for an additional digital one?

Samsung's AR push comes with a chilling shadow: privacy. These smart glasses, loaded up with cameras and microphones, will be passively recording pretty much everything that happens around us and to us. Who will have access to this data? How will it be used? Are we going to be surveilled and harassed by marketers? Will our every move be scrutinized?

At the very least, we should demand that adequate safeguards be put in place. History reminds us that technological progress frequently outruns regulatory guardrails. Companies promise anonymity, but data breaches happen. They tell us to feel confident because of the ethical use, but we know that algorithms can be biased.

Consider the unsettling parallel with social media. We were sold on an idea of connection and community, but instead we found ourselves surrounded by echo chambers and filter bubbles. Are we doomed to make the same mistakes with AR? This is not only a gambit to sell more cool new TVs – this is about altering the DNA of our shared social lives.

AR holds the potential to make our lives better, but my nightmare that it will only make us more lonely is true. We don’t need a crystal ball to know this. We’re living through the reduction of in-person connection, made up for by virtual connection. Will AR glasses exacerbate this trend? Will we lose ourselves in this virtual experience to the detriment of the physical one?

Picture this scene at a family reunion, everyone wearing AR glasses and talking to immersive avatars of other relatives rather than the real people next to them. Now picture that same couple on a date, staring more at the AR experience than into each other’s eyes. This is not science fiction. This is a very real possibility.

In Ireland, storytelling and oral history has been a big part of our culture for thousands of years. Could AR revolutionize the way stories are told? That’s a frankly amazing opportunity to make our myths, legends, stories & history come alive in exciting & innovative new ways! Perhaps. Without some serious thinking, AR has the capacity to distort or commodify our cultural heritage. It endangers the mutation of our vibrant folklore into simple shippable commodities.

Let's be blunt: not everyone wants AR glasses. Many of us would take the actual world, warts and all. Many of us prefer privacy and control to convenience and distraction. Many of us are becoming increasingly concerned by the hoard of technologic progress that is hellbent on overtaking every aspect of our lives.

The tech industry has long painted anyone who opposes new technologies as luddites, too afraid to let go of their old ways. Maybe these luddites are just better tuned to understand how technology can go wrong. Perhaps they have begun to understand the basic need for human connection. They value privacy and the quiet pleasure of just being there, right then and there.

Samsung’s ambitious wager on AR is a bet on the future. Is that even a future we want to live in? It's time to ask the hard questions. It's time to demand transparency and accountability. Looking to ensure that the most forgotten voices among us are not left behind or hurt before we rush headfirst into this brave new technology. The anxiety is real.

The LEDoS market is projected to explode. Samsung would certainly like to see Apple and Meta as customers. But at what cost—and what sort of world are these companies and cities building? A world where we’re never free from the influence of content and ads? A world where our privacy is eroded?

We need to demand a better future. A future where technology works for humanity instead of the other way around. Build a future that respects your privacy. In this new world, it’s human connections that are valued, and technology is used to elevate humanity.

The bed LEDoS technology itself isn’t the enemy – it’s all in how you use it. As any carpenter will tell you, a hammer can either build you a house, or it can break your window. The same applies here.

Will Samsung's AR spark a revolution? Possibly. But it can easily go the other way, fizzling out and instead producing a legacy of promises unfulfilled and consequences unforeseen. The opportunity and the challenge chime together — the choice is ours in what future we build. Let's choose wisely.

LEDoS's Bright Future, A Darker Side?

The LEDoS market is projected to explode. Samsung hopes Apple and Meta will be clients. But what kind of world are these companies building? A world where we're constantly bombarded with information and advertisements? A world where our privacy is eroded?

We need to demand a better future. A future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around. A future where privacy is protected, where human connection is valued, and where technology is used to enhance our lives, not to control them.

The LEDoS technology itself isn't inherently bad, but how it's used is key. A hammer can build a house or break a window. The same applies here.

Will Samsung's AR spark a revolution? Possibly. But it could just as easily fizzle out, leaving behind a trail of broken promises and unintended consequences. It's up to us to decide which path we take. Let's choose wisely.