I recently came across an article in MIT's Technology Review titled "Augmented Reality, Wrapped Around Your Finger" which set me thinking:

 

Will our future be augmented?

 

 

We already forsee augmentation in our information consumption - see News channels on TV like Zee News, where a lot of bars run, or NDTV Profit - where a continuous stream of stock data is run! Isn't that augmentation of some form that's run onto a main show?

 

What I think is that visually challenged would probably be the first to gain advantage of such augmented devices. Why? Simply because they need it the most!

 

Augmented Reality devices could enable them to do a lot of things - true - browse a public library or read off websites ! 

 

 

However, are they going to make them dumb, or in general, us dumb? The more we rely on tech (I have nothing against that - I use my phone a lot! - even phone's meaning has changed from landline to mobile!) the more we tend to stop using our brains! Isn't that true?

 

 

Can there be some balance, where the visually challenged still rely on their touch and audio feedback mediums (in safe environments) and use the augmented reality devices in unknown environments?

 

  Abhishek Syal