Don't Buy AR Glasses: The Future Ad Nightmare

A post on Hacker News argues that the proliferation of augmented reality (AR) glasses will bring the web's plague of ads and pop-ups into the real world. According to the author, the hyper-gamified nature of apps like Temu is a sign of things to come for AR glasses. The report suggests that the same companies that turned the web into a gamified nightmare of banners, pop-ups, and dark patterns will inevitably do the same to AR.

The piece points out that while it's still considered rude to stare at your phone during dinner or while crossing the street, glasses are designed to be worn all day, making constant ads unavoidable. "Real-world pop-ups? Are you insane?" the author asks, predicting that AR will be an escape hatch for pop-ups to break free from the browser window. According to the article, Apple, Google, and Meta will create frameworks for businesses to display interfaces and ads in arbitrary places, and it will spiral out of control.

The main message is: don't buy AR glasses. "You can't become dependent or reliant on a device you haven't yet bought," the author writes, urging resistance. If they want to envelop us in a cyberpunk dystopia, they should have to drag us inside kicking and screaming.