AR we becoming too reliant..?

Memory. Knowledge. Once held in the highest regard [and still in certain areas of society] are on a downward trajectory of relevance in the main. With devices on our wrists and in our pockets able to answer [almost] any question that can be asked, the reliance on our own memory and depth of knowledge in a given subject is being eroded by the availability of more up to date versions of the same information.

This is the reality in which we live, but what is the picture going to look like when the use of Augmented Reality encroaches further on the skills in industry and business?

Projecting just 10 years into the future; if all navigation systems are provided in AR what would compel the majority of us to learn the geography of our own area?

Many of us are already heavily reliant on Sat Nav to get around, especially if it's a journey not taken before, but how many also have the backup of a physical map of the country's road network in their car? I know the only reason I store my A to Z UK road atlas between the passenger seat and the centre console is because that's how my father always stored his!

Then take the application of AR technology across business;

There are plenty of "over the shoulder" use cases for AR. Take operating theatres for example, where the surgeon operating can receive guidance and instruction from more experienced doctors who are not physically able to attend. This has potentially life saving results and while something that should be promoted, we must also be very careful that it isn't seen as a replacement.

In any industry or arena, the assistance provided by AR [be it human or otherwise] should always be in the context of coaching and not cost-cutting, for there is a danger that companies may look at such tools as an opportunity to down-skill a particular job, knowing the actual work being carried out will be overseen by the AR helper. This kind of attitude could start a race to the bottom where competency could be side-lined in favour of volume and "boots on the ground".

We are already seeing the impact and issues that technology is having when applied to jobs that previously required skill and nuance; take any number of customer service positions; Now that you are able to place your order through the touch screen at the front of the coffee shop, have you noticed a distinct drop off in the quality of your interactions with the baristas when the technology is "offline"? The customer contact has been so reduced I imagine many of the serving staff aren't adequately trained [if at all] for what happens when things don't go to plan - and the experience of [any number of similar scenarios] is much poorer for it.

Now it may be that you don’t really care about getting a friendly smile from your customer service individual and that customer loyalty isn’t top of the agenda in a mass-consumer operation, but for some - and especially those who remember how things were before the technological updates - being recognised by the person preparing your coffee / food / etc. is something that brightens the day.

So, if we are receiving lower quality customer service representatives, what of the other more technical positions that are in the AR firing line? Getting a surly response when you get oat milk instead of regular milk in your morning coffee perhaps isn't quite as serious as a medical procedure that goes awry because there was an interruption in the wifi.

The repercussions of dumbing-down the skillsets of such jobs loom large. This is technology that can help disarm a bomb or teach you to play a symphony, but if we rely exclusively on these tools how will we cope when the off-switch is flipped?