McKinsey Digital recently published an interview with Cathy Hackl, a "foremost futurist, metaverse expert, and author".
The interviewer, Ms. Alaghband, asked Ms. Hackl for an example of what a young woman’s life might look like in the metaverse ten years from now. Of course, we at Design a Better World are very interested in the future and how designs can "get us from where we are to where we ought to be". But we are very disappointed by Ms. Hackl's vision of the future after billions or maybe even trillions of dollars are spent on the metaverse. This was her answer:
"I envision that she wakes up and starts her morning routine thanks to her voice adviser. She goes to her closet and looks at her volumetric version of herself, which is like an avatar or hologram of herself, and starts trying on clothes virtually using that volumetric version of herself that has all her measurements, and then selects what she’s going to wear that day. And the actual clothing she then puts on her physical self has a digital component to it. She can alter what her outfit looks like depending on who she’s with virtually, or maybe her lipstick has digital haptic nanoparticles embedded in it so she can greet her partner who is traveling in another country and feel his embrace."
Seriously? After billions of dollars in investments the "better world" that this futurist and metaverse expert invasions for young women is being able to try on her wardrobe without really trying it on? Or creating a digital twin of herself that can alter her lipstick depending on who she's with in the virtual world?
With all the problems we have in the real world and all the possible "better worlds" that we might create with our designs, isn't it disappointing to hear that billions in investments and the creative efforts of thousands of designers would go into achieving a future that is so insipid? Don't we deserve a better world than that with our designs?
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