Get hands on with emerging tech

TECHLIFE’S PRACTICAL MONTHLY ROUNDUP OF ALL THE LATEST VIRTUALAND AUGMENTED-REALITY APPS AND EXPERIENCES, ALONGSIDE AI-DRIVEN BOTS AND OTHER USEFUL TOOLS.

FROM THE BEAUTIFUL storytelling of Dear Angelica to the terrifying immersion of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (how could you do that to yourself?), virtual reality finally seems to be taking its first tentative steps toward a less novel future, where the medium is not the source of intrigue itself, but rather a tool to better communicate the art it was built for.

Meanwhile, augmented reality is getting a healthy dose of DIY, with users devising clever ways to implement useful and entertaining overlays onto everyday life. Whether that’s assisting with existing games by adding some extra screen-space or bringing the party to the real world and making concrete stairs ‘fun’ again, AR has plenty left up its sleeve, and is moving towards becoming an obvious convenience, rather than a slightly bizarre luxury.

As long as there are intelligences that are artificial, they’ll reflect the gamut of those that are human — efficient, helpful, scrupulous or annoying. Thankfully, we can (for now) still choose which to use and, if used wisely, they can impact our lives in ways much larger than their apparent simplicity would suggest... or, as is the case with one AI we discovered this month, they can just be designed to annoy you.