If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the past two weeks in a bit of an existential haze upon public debuts of the Apple Vision Pro VR Headset and Sora, OpenAI’s new text-to-video generator.
I’m assuming everyone here has heard about these two things by now.
If not, I highly recommend taking the time to watch the following comprehensive Apple Vision Pro review from popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee:
As well as:
Casey Neistat’s YouTube review
This recent episode of the All In Podcast:
And this lengthy but worthwhile assessment from Ben Thompson of Stratechery
As for Sora, I will again defer to Marques Brownlee:
And once more, the guys at All-In.
I strongly encourage you to digest those videos, read that article, and/or listen to those podcast episodes.
If OpenAI rings a bell, they are perhaps best known for Chat GPT, that fun site you may have sampled over the holidays in 2022 to write a roast about your mother-in-law in iambic pentameter.
Barely one year later, Chat GPT’s functionality has soared far beyond simple, text-based prompts. Internet comment sections have become littered with sandbagged bots “talking to each other” using generative AI. Sales organizations utilize it to personalize and expedite outreach. Every student in the country is using it for their essay writing. We may never hear an original Best Man speech ever again.
Today, the most recent edition features GPT-4, a paid tier with robust image generation (DALL-E), web browsing, a Data Analysis tool, and the option to incorporate plug-ins from third-parties like Zapier, Canva, and Expedia (think the iPhone App Store but for GPT-4).
Unfortunately, I highly recommend purchasing a GPT-4 subscription immediately.
It’s $20/month, and essentially functions like my executive assistant.
It saves me a ton of time w.r.t. project management, time management, data analysis, and image design. There’s also a mobile app version, which has replaced Google as my go-to search engine, as keywords are not sold to the highest bidder (yet).
Something funny about GPT-4 is that when I show it to skeptics (usually creatives), they immediately respond, “yeah, but it could never do my job”.
Well, maybe not today.
But probably frighteningly soon.
First, it came for text-based jobs. Content writing, copywriting, market research, email writing, sales prospecting.
Then it evolved to handle complex data analysis and image generation. Forecasting, revenue planning, operational analysis, poster design, logo design.
Now it’s coming for video. Creation, direction, editing.
And Sora is just one of the new upcoming features in GPT-5.
I was not a blockchain guy, nor a crypto guy, nor an NFT guy.
But I think GPT-5 is going to be one of those “gradually, and then suddenly” moments where we blink one day, and suddenly the corporate workforce looks entirely different.
We are like six months away from having thousands of companies in a wide range of industries running their entire, automated operation off a $20/month subscription.
Of course, the cynical digital marketing analyst in me can’t help but wonder how all of this groundbreaking technology is going to radically disrupt the comedy industry.
Overwhelmingly, it seems like the FAANG companies are betting on a sharp decline in the amount of people who want to do IRL things like attend live comedy shows.
The public largely scoffed at the Metaverse, when it was first announced in 2021. To me, it felt like a last-ditch desperation play from Facebook.
Post-COVID, I thought there was going to be a massive “zag” back to face-to-face communication by the touch-starved masses.
But it seems like the pendulum first has to swing even further into digital territory before any sort of meaningful pivot back to analog.
Remember how goofy the original 2017-2019 era AirPods looked? They had great functionality, but were mainly a status symbol for finance bros.
A luxury good.
But then the AirPods Pro came out, which were significantly smaller.
Prices gradually decreased, and with the proliferation of remote work / co-working spaces, it eventually made too much sense to own a pair for business reasons.
Nowadays, basically everyone aged 18-49 that lives in major metropolitan areas has them in their ears while on the bus, or the train, or at the grocery store, gym, or airport.
Hell, I’ve played pickup basketball with Gen Z kids who still had their AirPods in.
Seriously, look around you the next time you’re on the subway.
Eyes are diverted to screens. Ears are covered with headphones. For swaths of the past four years, masks covered our faces (and still do, in certain areas of the country).
Maybe this is a bit “Old Man Yells At Clouds”, but it sometimes feels like everyone on the subway is a baby sucking on their iPacifier, unable to cope with simply being present and bored.
I know it’s hack, but consider why everyone is blocking their sensory input in all previously idle moments.
What are they avoiding?
Why?
And so I predict that if the Apple Vision Pro goes the way of the AirPod, and finds a way to downsize this promise of escapism with a pair of “regular" sized glasses, then it’s going to become extremely popular.
In its current iteration (and price point), I guess I can see the Vision Pro becoming a popular productivity tool for members of the upper-middle Frequent Flyer classes.
There’s something deeply comforting about knowing your seat neighbors can’t steal a glance at the sensitive documents or data you’re working on.
Unfortunately, this privacy perk is also why I could see AVP becoming extremely popular with incels, what with the male loneliness epidemic of it all.
As for how this all affects live comedy?
As a skeptic at heart, I can't help but view these advancements through a critical lens.
Let's start with Sora. On the surface, it's a marvel of AI, enabling creators to generate videos from mere text descriptions. While it promises a world of unlimited creative potential, especially for advertisements, I can't help but think about the implications for comedy, an art form that thrives on the human touch.
Comedy is about connection, timing, and the nuances of human expression.
It's about the shared laughter that erupts in a room when a comedian hits the punchline just right. Can Sora replicate the spontaneity of a stand-up set, or the subtle timing of a seasoned comedian? There's a magic in live comedy that's irreplaceable, and the thought of algorithmically generated humor feels like a cold substitution.
The risk here is not just the commodification of comedy, but the loss of its soul.
Then there's Apple's Vision Pro, a piece of technology that's as ambitious as it is awe-inspiring. With its promise of immersive experiences, it could revolutionize how we consume media, especially comedy.
But again, the pessimist in me wonders: What happens to that communal experience?
There's something inherently social about laughter.
It's an experience best shared, not isolated behind high-tech goggles, no matter how impressive the spatial audio or the 3D visuals.
As we dive deeper into virtual spaces, do we risk diluting the essence of live performances that thrive on audience interaction?
Comedy clubs, with their cramped seats and dim lighting, offer a unique vibe that's hard to replicate in a digital space.
The Vision Pro, for all its technological wizardry, can't mimic the warmth of human connection or the electric atmosphere of a live show.
Moreover, the steep price point of the Vision Pro places it out of reach for many, potentially creating a divide in how comedy is accessed and enjoyed.
Will the next generation of comedy enthusiasts grow up watching holograms in their living rooms instead of aspiring comedians in dingy bars? And what does that mean for the grassroots of comedy, where many great comedians cut their teeth?
In essence, while Sora and the Apple Vision Pro represent significant leaps forward in technology, they also pose existential questions for the comedy industry. As someone deeply embedded in this world, I can't help but view these advancements with a mix of awe and apprehension. The heart of comedy is its humanity—its ability to make us feel less alone in our absurd human condition.
As we navigate this brave new world, let's not forget the power of a simple joke, delivered by a human, to another human, face to face.