Dawn of the New Everything

Encounters with Reality and Virtual Reality

By: Jaron Lanier

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

In this captivating audiobook, Jaron Lanier - the father of virtual reality - explains its dazzling possibilities by reflecting on his own lifelong relationship with technology

Bridging the gap between tech mania and the experience of being inside the human body, Dawn of the New Everything is a look at what it means to be human at a moment of unprecedented technological possibility.

Through a fascinating look back over his life in technology, Jaron Lanier, an interdisciplinary scientist and father of the term virtual reality, exposes VR's ability to illuminate and amplify our understanding of our species and gives listeners a new perspective on how the brain and body connect to the world. An inventive blend of autobiography, science writing, philosophy, and advice, this audiobook tells the wild story of his personal and professional life as a scientist, from his childhood in the UFO territory of New Mexico to the loss of his mother, the founding of the first start-up, and finally becoming a world-renowned technological guru.

Understanding virtual reality as being both a scientific and a cultural adventure, Lanier demonstrates it to be a humanistic setting for technology. While his previous publications offered a more critical view of social media and other manifestations of technology, in this audiobook he argues that virtual reality can actually make our lives richer and fuller.

©2017 Jaron Lanier (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"[Oliver Wyman] narrates in a reflective tone that fits well with Lanier's mix of recollections, philosophy, and explanations of technology...Lanier takes the listener through VR breakthroughs like Nintendo's Power Glove and delves into the psychology involved in the VR experience." (AudioFile Magazine)

Fascinating insight into VR, AI, Tech in general

Unconventional viewpoint from a founding father of Virtual Reality on internet and tech trends, through the lens of someone who was there working on them from the beginning days to the present day, with insightful commentary borne of the intersection of tech business, visionary new age culture, scientific skepticism, and cyberpunk speculations on futurism.

Thank you Mr. Lanier, sincerely.

in an age where insanity seems to be the new normal a considered and truly educated voice is a rare but starkly contrasted gem. Thank you so much, Jaron, for your thoughts, your work, your humanity and your willingness to put this out.

Interesting biography that teaches about VR

I would've preferred it narrated by the author, but nonetheless Jaron Lanier is always an interesting read/listen. His candid discussion of his far-from-ordinary upbringing would render this a worthy listen on it's own, and the discussion of computing, social media, and the future of AI is refreshing and ahead of the curve.

WORLDS OF IMAGINATION

Both Da Vinci (as characterized by Walter Isaacson) and Jaron Lanier are self-effacing geniuses without formal education. Both manage to create worlds of imagination. Lanier’s memoir illustrates how refinement of virtual reality is as groundbreaking as Da Vinci’s understanding of light. History will not likely view Lanier as the Da Vinci of our era but there are interesting similarities.

Lanier is one of the pioneers of facial recognition. Facial recognition is a tool that can be used by humanities’ tyrants as well as benefactors. In conjunction with digitizing the lives of everyone, facial recognition implies a “Brave New World” as eminently realizable.

The “Dawn of Everything” gives a clearer picture of what it was and is like to become a part of the Silicon Valley. He candidly recounts his rise as a tech mogul, failure, and gadfly. Lanier’s memoir is at once enlightening and disheartening. He offers a virtual picture of modern life that is influencing, but not yet controlling. Lanier is optimistic. Many listeners will leave his memoir skeptical.

Great, but a little techy

Someone recommended I watch the documentary "The Social Dilemma". The topic was a little interesting, but most of the details and talking heads were boring, except for this one guy who spoke plainly and made sense. That was Jaron Lanier. I looked up what he had written and chose this book. I have zero social media and I am confident I can deal with any targeted advertising associated with my browsing history, so his books warning about social media are not applicable to me. Although I don't play any video games, I am interested in the ideas behind VR and have worked in AI so this is the book I picked.

The author parallels an interesting and unusual autobiography with a quirky history of hackers, VR, and AI. If you believe AI is a powerful technology that may even rival human intelligence in the near future, this is a good book to dispel that idea. AI is sometimes a useful tool in limited domains but currently no where close to the intelligence of a mouse, let alone humans. Instead the author points to the potential of VR to alter human outlook on reality. This does get a little deep into the bits & bytes for non-programmers, and the explanations of the wilder futures of VR (like becoming a crab in VR) are difficult to understand if you haven't previously been exposed to the ideas.

This is worth the listen even if you have no programming background. You my miss out on some of the more technical bits but there is a lot of interesting stuff anyone could appreciate.

The narration was excellent, clear and understandable, with great expressions of the emotional content.