It seems self-defeating for the former head of Oculus Stories Studios and current founder and executive producer of VR startup Fable to declare AI, not virtual reality, the next big art form. Especially considering that, aside from him, nobody knows what that means.
TNW talked to Fable founder Edward Saatchi about his company’s pivot away from focusing on just making stories in VR. He told us that the future of entertainment was “virtual beings,” non-living characters powered by AI that interact with humans.
If you’re thinking of Alexa or Cortana right now, you’re not really wrong, but that’s not what Saatchi’s talking about. According to him, we’ll never be friends with them because they’re servants. “People don’t want to be around someone who always wants to do whatever you want to do. Friendships require friction,” he told TNW.
And, if you think about it, it’s true. Even if you love how useful your virtual assistant is, it’s not your friend. Your friends don’t hunch down on your counter motionlessly waiting for you to call their name. “Hey John, do friend stuff.”
