Alexander Hayes: It’s a shift in humanity, not in technology!

Alexander Hayes is an Australian researcher and PhD candidate investigating the social implications of augmented reality technologies such as Google Glass. I met Hayes during last year’s ISTAS13 conference in Toronto and the consequent UAV Drones: Pros vs Cons symposium, where he was one of the key organizers. During the course of these events I was quickly impressed by Alex both personally and professionally, and thus I knew that I had to interview Alex on Singularity 1 on 1 so that he can share the findings of his research. During our 1 hour conversation with Hayes we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his interest in augmented reality and drone technology; whether Google Glass is a slam dunk game-changing device; “normalization” of technology; the break-down of public and private space; privacy, security and surveillance; physiological shifts in the brain resulting from Google Glass’ electro-magnetic and/or radiation emissions; the benefits for education, training, policing and other activities; whether Google Glass is good or bad; Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End; drones for good and drones for bad; augmented reality, augmented humanity and the process of chipification… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with Alexander Hayes are: “It’s a shift in humanity; it’s not a shift in technology” [on Google Glass and similar devices] and “Beware the implications of your involvement with technology!”