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Social Implications

The Augmented Web connects web browser in two new ways.

  1. It connects them to the physical world using Sensor based APIs that allow the web browser to literally sense the local world around you.
  2. It also connects them to remote systems and devices using bi-directional data streams.

The Augmented Web allows the data from these connections to be integrated into a dynamic rich media experience that includes images, audio, video and 3D.  And because these connections to local sensors and remote bi-directional data streams can be influenced by you and other users then your Augmented Web experience can dynamically respond to and represent your world.

If you think the Web has already had a big impact on global society and culture then wait until we see what the Augmented Web brings!

But this new dynamic Augmented Web brings a range of social implications that need much broader discussion.  These are key topics that we actively encourage you to discuss using the mailing list.

Social Implications of the Augmented Web

Privacy
What are the Privacy implications of this new vision for the web?  Any website you visit using a suitable modern browser will now be able to connect you to the world in a whole new way.  And by doing that it will also drive you to create streams of new data about who and where you are and how you interact with the world and people both around you and remotely.  How do we balance the desire to enable these powerful new features while promoting and improving the individual’s right to personal privacy?

Social Interaction
How will this new generation of the web change our Social Interaction?  Now you can reach out across the world and use your face or gestures to interact with people anywhere.  You and anyone else you allow can project your information onto the objects around you and locations and images are anchors for the new social space.  How will the nature of this new social space change the way we interact with the people in our lives?

Access and Control
How does the nature of Access and Control change in this new web environment?  In the current version of the web it is web addresses that provide links to content and functionality.  With this dynamic new web any combination of Sensor Data can now provide a link to dynamic content and functionality.  How does someone “own” a stream of Sensor Data or “control” what it links to?  How do people “know” what Sensor Data links to what?  And what does this mean for people that cannot “access” this new web at all?

If you have any other topics you think should be added to this list then please let us know.  Or feel free to contribute to the wiki pages on these topics.

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