How to adapt to thrive in times of uncertainty
6th Annual Savant eCommerce Amsterdam Conference. 28th – 29th October 2021. Keynote 'There is no truth in the metaverse' by Jeroen Vinkesteijn.
4. Times of uncertainty
• What computers and the internet mean to society is overrated
in the short-term, and heavily underestimated in the longer
term (Bill Gates, 1995)
• Uncertainty is linked to the truth
• Trusted sources, data online? Getting blurry
• And does it matter?
• How does truthfulness affect the value of ‘things’, situations?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58990330
4
5. ‘Gradations’ of truth or reality?
https://www.shutterstock.com/nl/video/clip-12857384-paris-france---october-25-2015-
https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Eiffel-Tower-Priority-Access/d479-7845P7
• Physical reality?
• ‘Biased’ by (selective)
observation (perceived reality)
https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/eiffel-tower-to-reopen-for-public-on-june-25-624878
• Framed - staged (message +/-)
https://www.toursbylocals.com/blog/eiffel-tower
• Interface (software e.g.)
5
6. Prof. Luciano Floridi: ectypes
https://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/people/luciano-floridi
• Augmented reality: add stuff to real environment
https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Eiffel-Tower-Priority-Access/d479-7845P7
https://www.groovejones.com/social_ar_101/
https://wallup.net/nilin-pc-gaming-remember-me-neo-paris-eiffel-tower-video-games/
• Virtual reality: a created environment
• Real virtuality: non existed, mixed
elements, also physical ‘real’ spin-offs.
• Synthetic reality: metaverse? Mix of all of this?
registration (data) - digitalization -
accessibility - processing -
techniques: soft & hardware
6
7. Synthetic media
Synthetic Media are forms of media where AI takes on part (or all) of the
creative process. Content like artificially-generated video, voice, images or
text, deep fakes, VR etc.
https://influencermarketinghub.com/virtual-influencers/
7
8. Metaverse
"Metaverse" describes the concept of a (future) iteration of the Internet,
made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived
virtual universe. In a broader sense more than virtual worlds, but new
internet including the news reality concepts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash
https://knockaround.com/blogs/journal/best-virtual-world-games
8
13. 1902
• ‘Compilation’ of three images
• General Ulysses Grant at City Point
Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/294786
13
14. 1 – Truth in representation
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/hotel-real-v-fake-photos-2013-12
https://tourismteacher.com/maasai-tribe-tour/
14
15. Staging - framing - dark patterns okay?
• Is it just clever marketing? Ethics?
• Isn’t there a responsibility with consumers as well?
15
18. 3 – Truth in Identities
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/23/726353723/facebook-removed-nearly-3-2-billion-fake-accounts-in-last-six-months?t=1571840137630
https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/05/enforcing-our-community-standards-3/
18
21. 4 - Truth and physical products
• What if you wouldn’t know and wouldn’t notice?
• What if you know and the quality is equal?
• What if the product is the same, just after-hours production
• Is it about status - exclusivity – price – the story?
• Is it maybe all just perceived?
https://www.racked.com/2017/1/2/14149614/fake-handbags Chanel
21
22. New truth, new values
https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/social-media-makes-you-hate-customer-service-less/
Sale: one-on-one?
22
24. New realities, new values
A work called Nyan Cat by Chris Torres sold for $590,000 recently.
It's part of growing interest in digital assets, known as nonfungible
tokens, or NFTs, that are generating millions of dollars in sales
every day.
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/05/974089381/whats-an-nft-and-why-are-people-paying-millions-to-buy-them
24
25. Tip 1
It’s more than ever about the story, the feeling anything brings.
Three main anthropological characteristics of homo sapiens are
storytelling, playing games and seeking the truth.
https://www.botuitgevers.nl/product/echt-nep-menno-van-doorn-sander-duivestein-thijs-pepping/
25
27. Tip 2
Reality, the truth is what we create and, or maybe what we
accept. As long as we believe it is the truth. Rather, our truth.
This also opens so many new opportunities! Be creative!
https://medium.com/@Jam3/how-to-make-ai-generated-sneakers-3a39464ec58d
https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/fortnite-balenciaga-collaboration-release-info/
27