Robert Scoble on AI, Smart Glasses, and XR

TL;DR

AI remains underhyped because most people have not incorporated it into everyday work, even as tools begin controlling computers, interpreting screens, and automating physical devices. Robert Scoble expects smart glasses and mixed reality to make computing spatial, while computer vision, autonomous robots, virtual beings, and increasingly independent AI systems create opportunities for businesses and major challenges for society.

Transcript

wave after wave of change. When it comes to AI, do you think we're still underhyping it or overhyping it? I think we're underhyping it. Normal everyday people still haven't really seen the power of it or really started using it a lot. Soon you're going to have a virtual being and this thing's going to look like a human being. Walk around, sit on th... Read More

Key Insights

• AI adoption is still limited among ordinary users, despite broad awareness of tools such as ChatGPT. Scoble says resistance is typical during disruption, comparing current skepticism with the early public response to social media before it became widely used.
• Smart glasses are developing into wearable computers that can display calendar information, calls, AI responses, and language translations. Scoble’s current glasses use a green and black display, while he expects forthcoming devices to combine wider displays, cameras, microphones, and access to personal data.
• Mixed reality works by placing digital screens, information, and three-dimensional objects into a person’s surrounding environment. Scoble believes this approach can make computing more efficient and enjoyable because human perception naturally operates in three dimensions rather than through a single flat screen.
• Business adoption of extended reality is already occurring in workplaces where employees need large digital workspaces without numerous physical monitors. Factory workers can view machine information hands-free, work within smaller spaces, and leave spatially relevant video instructions for the employees arriving on the next shift.
• Mixed reality can support surgery by aligning medical scans with a patient’s body. Scoble describes a system from Metivview that helps surgeons see relevant information over the operating area and assess whether a cutting tool is positioned appropriately before removing a tumor.
• Screen-aware AI assistants can perform tasks across a computer’s operating system. Scoble uses VI to move text between applications, request social media content from ChatGPT, change display settings, inspect screenshots, and offer suggestions about work being completed in software such as AutoCAD.
• AI is already embedded in household devices, including an oven that uses a camera and an Nvidia card to recognize food and select cooking times. Scoble also describes connected lights, home power controls, audio equipment, and a Tesla as examples of increasingly computerized environments.
• Computer vision improves robotic cleaners by allowing them to construct three-dimensional maps and navigate more deliberately. Scoble says his Matic robot uses four cameras, avoids problems such as fringes and wires, and moves through the home in a manner he compares with autonomous vehicles.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why does Robert Scoble believe AI is underhyped?

Robert Scoble believes AI is underhyped because many ordinary people have heard about it but still do not use it regularly or understand its practical power. He observes stronger enthusiasm in Silicon Valley, where companies are actively building AI products, than in other parts of America. He compares this resistance with the early response to social media, which people initially dismissed before adopting widely.

Q: How can smart glasses use AI in everyday life?

Smart glasses can place AI-generated information directly within the wearer’s field of view. Scoble describes glasses that display calendar events, incoming calls, and translated speech through a small green and black display. He says users can connect AI services to the glasses for guidance while walking or driving. Future devices may add cameras, microphones, broader displays, and access to personal data.

Q: What business applications does mixed reality have?

Mixed reality can give workers large digital workspaces without requiring many physical monitors. Scoble says factory employees can view information from equipment, work hands-free, and leave a video for the next shift explaining a machine problem. These capabilities can reduce the physical space needed for screens while placing instructions and operational information close to the relevant machine or task.

Q: How can mixed reality help surgeons perform operations?

Mixed reality can place medical scans over a patient’s body so that the displayed information remains aligned with the area being operated on. Scoble describes a system created by Metivview that helps surgeons evaluate whether a cutting tool is in the correct position before beginning to remove a tumor. The application turns medical imaging into spatial guidance within the surgeon’s working environment.

Q: How does Scoble use a screen-aware AI assistant?

Scoble uses an assistant called VI to control tasks across his Macintosh operating system. He can ask it to copy text from Descript, place that text into ChatGPT, and request a social media post. The assistant can also change screen settings, capture a screenshot of current work, understand what is happening on screen, and suggest faster or better ways to work.

Q: Why does Scoble compare AI adoption with social media?

Scoble compares the two because disruptive technologies often begin with slow adoption and strong public resistance. He recalls speaking at conferences about social media around 20 years earlier and seeing almost nobody willing to try it, even though social platforms later became widely used. He expects AI adoption to follow a similar path as more people experience useful applications in work and daily life.

Q: How is computer vision improving home robots?

Computer vision allows a home robot to observe rooms, build a three-dimensional map, recognize obstacles, and navigate more deliberately. Scoble contrasts his Matic robot with earlier robotic cleaners that became caught on fringes, consumed wires, or tracked messes through a house. He says the Matic uses four cameras and moves through the home in a way comparable to an autonomous vehicle navigating a street.

Q: What future does Scoble expect from AI and mixed reality?

Scoble expects computing to move beyond flat screens into three-dimensional environments filled with digital displays and objects. He also anticipates virtual beings that look human and AI systems that can think and act more independently. Although he references the dark possibilities portrayed by Black Mirror, he says he is optimistic that people will work through the risks before the technology develops in a harmful direction.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Robert Scoble argues that AI adoption resembles the early rise of social media: enthusiasm is concentrated among technology builders, while many ordinary people remain skeptical or rarely use the tools. He considers AI underhyped because its capabilities are expanding into computer control, household appliances, autonomous machines, wearable displays, and personalized assistance across daily activities.

• Smart glasses and mixed reality could replace limited physical screens with digital workspaces positioned throughout a three-dimensional environment. Scoble highlights applications on factory floors, during shift handoffs, and in surgery, where spatially aligned information can support practical tasks. He believes three-dimensional computing fits how people naturally perceive and interact with the world.

• Computer vision is improving household robots by helping them map rooms, identify objects, and navigate around hazards that troubled earlier cleaners. Scoble connects this progress with broader developments in autonomous technology and AI assistants that observe computer activity. He remains optimistic about society adapting, although he acknowledges that increasingly independent AI could become dark.