Flying Into The Metaverse Through Books & Culture is proud to present an interview with Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青)
During AWE USA 2024 I had the pleasure and opportunity to interview Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青) and talk about the evolution of AI and about his new book Our Next Reality, co-written with Louis Rosenberg.
(…) In Our Next Reality, two industry veterans provide a data-driven debate on whether the new world we’re creating will be a technological utopia or an AI-powered dystopia and gives guidance on how to aim for the best future we can. With a Foreword by renowned author Neal Stephenson and section contributions from industry thought-leaders such as Peter H. Diamandis, Tom Furness, Phillip Rosedale, Tony Parisi, Avi Bar Zeev and Walter Parkes, this book answers over a dozen of the most pressing questions we face as AI/VR/AR accelerates the digitization of our world. Find out why our actions in the next decade could determine the trajectory of our species for countless millennia.(…source)
The interview was recorded during AWE USA 2024, at the Long Beach Convention Center in California in June 2024.
These are the highlights:
0:00:00 – Opening Theme
0:00:07 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Opening the interview”
0:00:17 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Hi Alvin!”
0:00:20 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: “Hi Cecilia!”
0:00:21 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Alvin, you are: Bestselling Author of “Our Next Reality” published by Hachette Books LI | Global VP of Corp. Dev. HTC | Vice-Chair Industry of VR Alliance | President VRVCA | Investor | Speaker | Top Artificial Intelligence (Al) Voice on LinkedIn… But… who is Alvin Wang Graylin really?”
0:00:52 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:01:50 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Alvin, you and Louis Rosenberg are the authors of “Our Next Reality”. You wrote this book at a key moment for the application of AI to the world of work. How did you organize this publication, how did your collaboration begin….Tell us about your book, we want to know everything.”
0:02:16 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:03:18 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “When Generative AI hit the mainstream, people of all backgrounds began to deal with a subject that until then had only been handled by scientists. Do you think this was a good thing or do you think it was a problem?”
0:03:40 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:04:23 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “What do you think of what the European Union is doing with the approval of the EU AI Act and the AI Office?”
0:04:33 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:05:28 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “One of the first mainstream approaches to Generative AI was through the generation of new content such as images, texts, video, audio and codes. Fake news is the order of the day. The Gartner 2024 report states that we will no longer be able to believe in social networks due to fake news generated by AI and the integration of AI into the social networks. What do you think about it?”
0:06:00 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:06:45 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: How do you think AI will evolve in the next two years?”
0:06:50 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:07:28 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Tell me about your plans for the future… I want to know all the secrets you haven’t told anyone yet!”
0:07:36 – ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN: Answer
0:09:19 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: This interview was recorded during AWE USA 2024 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, in June 2024.
0:09:31 – “PROMOTIONAL MOMENT!!!” by ALVIN WANG GRAYLIN
0:09:57 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Thank you Alvin for this interview and thank you all!”
0:10:03 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “Who I am?”
0:10:17 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: “See you soon at the next interview!!!”
0:10:24 – Closing Theme – “Become sponsor of the “Flying Into The Metaverse Through Books & Culture”
You can order here the book here: Hardcover | Audiobook | eBook
Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青)
Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青) is a recognized technology pioneer, entrepreneur, executive, and thought leader with 30+ years of experience delivering innovative products in the AI, XR, cybersecurity and semiconductor industries. He is the co-author of Our Next Reality: How the AI-powered Metaverse will Reshape the World , published by Hachette Book Group. Having built his foundation in VR research at the Human Interface Technology Lab over 30 years ago, Alvin has also developed his expertise in AI and Natural Language Processing after extensive studies at the University of Washington and MIT.
In his recent professional journey, Alvin served as the China President of HTC (2016-2023) and continues to contribute as Global VP of Corporate Development at HTC, a global leader in the VR/AR space. His commitment to the immersive computing field is further reflected in his roles as Vice-Chairman of the Industry of Virtual Reality Alliance (IVRA), President of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA), and board-member of the Virtual World Society (VWS).
Alvin’s entrepreneurial spirit is evidenced by his founding of four venture-backed startups in areas ranging from AI-based natural language search (2005), to professional mobile social (2010), AR-based local search (2012), and big-data AI analytics (2000) across China and the US. His broad operational experience also includes global P&L roles at multinational corporations like Intel, Trend Micro, WatchGuard Technologies, and IBM.
Alvin holds an M.S. in Computer Science from MIT, where he specialized in AI, and an M.S. in Business from MIT’s Sloan School of Management on the entrepreneurship and operations track. He also earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, focused on VR, AI, and CPU architecture. He was born in China during the Cultural Revolution to Eurasian parents and emigrated to the U.S. in 1980 as the country’s reform period started.
Alvin has recently relocated back to the U.S. after almost 20 years working/living in China during its internet and mobile boom and is currently based in Seattle, Washington.
Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青): LinkedIn, X
Louis Rosenberg
Louis Rosenberg, PhD is an early pioneer of virtual and augmented reality and a longtime AI researcher.
His work began over thirty years ago in VR labs at Stanford, NASA, and Air Force Research Laboratory where he developed the Virtual Fixtures platform, the first system enabling users to interact with a mixed reality of real and virtual objects.
In 1993, he founded the early VR company Immersion Corporation and brought it public on Nasdaq.
In 2004 he founded Outland Research, an early developer of augmented reality and spatial media technology acquired by Google.
In 2014 he founded Unanimous AI, a company focused on amplifying the intelligence of networked human groups in pursuit of Collective Superintelligence.
He received his PhD from Stanford University, was a tenured professor at California State University, and has been awarded over 300 patents for VR, AR, and AI technologies.
He is currently CEO of Unanimous AI, the Chief Scientist of the Responsible Metaverse Alliance and writes often for major publications about the dangers of emerging technologies.
His previous books include Arrival Mind, UPGRADE, and Monkey Room.
Louis Rosenberg: LinkedIn
Order the Hardcover | Audiobook | eBook
Reviews from the Hachette UK website:
“Graylin and Rosenberg have pulled off a rare feat: they’ve written a fantastically accessible and thoroughly engaging book that traverses the past, present and potential futures of the key technologies that will redefine our world. With decades of experience in these fields, and a talent for balancing insight, ingenuity and credible curiosity, they have crafted a book that can be enjoyed by both those who already think deeply about the subject, as well as those who don’t have any background on AI or the metaverse.”
“AI + XR = ABUNDANCE. For decades we’ve been promised Ready Player One, and only got mediocre game play. Now, finally, AI has the potential to deliver a ‘user-interface moment’ that transforms virtual and augmented reality, making it essential across all human endeavors from education and health to entertainment and dating. This book brings clarity to this potential, as well as a balanced perspective of both the benefits and the risks that really matter. It left me hopeful for the potentially abundant world that is described and informed on how I can play a role at this critical moment. Two thumbs up to Our Next Reality!”
“Today, hundreds of millions of people spend most of their waking hours in a world of digital content. Tomorrow, they’ll be in an immersive metaverse. Graylin and Rosenberg draw on their deep expertise to explain how this will transform business, culture, education, economics, and the human condition itself. If you want to understand the future ahead of us, you need to read this book.”
“In ‘Our Next Reality’, Graylin and Rosenberg brilliantly navigate the profound influence of artificial intelligence and immersive computing on our society in the coming decade. These two experts, each with over three decades of expertise, has crafted a nuanced debate on the technology’s promises and pitfalls. It’s a truly thought provoking read.”
“Our Next Reality provides a provocative, thoughtful, and optimistic yet realistic view of our future. It paints a picture of convergent paths with symbiotic AI where human agency can be retained.”
“Since the 1990s, I’ve been writing about how technology will completely transform our lives in the coming decades. That future of abundance appears more eminent than ever. In Our Next Reality, Alvin and Louis have done a fantastic job of giving a balanced and insightful analysis to some of the most pressing questions our society will face in the near future. The material is data driven, digestible, and very actionable.”
“A new wave of technology advances powered by AI and XR are going to transform our life, work, and communities on a greater scale than the tech of the past. I’m grateful that Alvin and Louis have anticipated this by giving us a deeply thoughtful exploration of their possible impacts. This could help us avoid some of the negative consequences that have snuck up on us with smartphones and social media, for example. For anyone who wants to use AI and XR to help build the future, read this book to help you skillfully navigate a future of unprecedented danger and promise.”
“Our Next Reality, by Graylin and Rosenberg, takes a deep dive into the Metaverse and AI’s transformative impact. The book skillfully combines technological insights with ethical considerations, guiding readers through competing visions of utopia and dystopia. It’s an essential read for those interested in the intersection of technology and society, and how AI is shaping our collective future.”
“I’ve been covering the tech industry for over a decade, wrote three books on immersive media and teach college courses on the topic, but still came away learning many things from this book. Our Next Reality really is a must-read for anyone who wants to prepare for the massive AI and XR driven disruption coming our way.”
Thank you very much Alvin for taking the time for this interview in the middle of your very busy world book tour and thank you for your kindness and availability!!!
FLYING INTO THE METAVERSE THROUGH BOOKS AND CULTURE: The Project
“Flying into the Metaverse through books & Culture” is a project that was born in May 2022 in collaboration with AWE aims to highlight the cultural trend already present in the Metaverse, highlighting studies and research carried out by professionals in the XR field who have been working on the development of new technologies and have seen the evolution of the technology sector from when Virtual Reality was still something unknown, to get to the birth of the Metaverse and the approach of these technologies of the highest level, towards the mainstream.
In 2022, GatherVerse and in the 2023 Virtual World Society supported the project.
Because if it’s true that technology goes very fast and that news as soon as it comes out on the market in a few seconds becomes something “old”, it’s also true that books and events have been written in this sector and the various communities around the world are developing more and more, with the aim of finally reaching a compromise with the public that still knows this world with.
I realize that the book is static and the Metaverse is in constant motion, but now there is a part of the history of the XR world, which must be written in the books precisely because it is consolidated and outdated.
If you think you have left important footprints in the XR sector, write to me in the form below and present your research, your book, or your project. Because this is a space that wants to make each of you number one… At least for the duration of a video interview!
Sixteen interviews have been conducted with some of the pioneers of the XR world.
More information here: https://area6dof.com/flying-into-the-metaverse-through-books-and-culture/
Cecilia is also an artist, photographer, videomaker, community manager and International Journalist. She is the organizer of AWE Nite Florence and she is the Italian Representative for Artivive.
Cecilia created a project called “Flying Into The Metaverse Through Books & Culture”, which is a series of interviews with the most important professionals in the XR field and manages an online Journal called ARea6DoF, registered to the Italian Court, where she writes the articles about the different topics she is concerned with.