Technology allows us to bend reality in many ways. One example:
One of Kanga's more promising ideas is a "Disneyland dementia village," with a fake butcher and grocery store, based on a Dutch model where dementia patients live in a Truman Show-esque village that mirrors outside life as closely as possible and savings are made through automation.*
Kanga is an artist turned materials scientist, and I'm not sure whether this idea is a dream or a nightmare. Of course, creating an illusion in which people suffering from dementia are comforted is a worthy goal. But what came to mind when I read this is that it will soon be possible, with the help of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, to create just about any fake version of reality that you wish.
Do you yearn for 50's America--you know, no bothersome civil rights, and the little lady is happy being a homemaker? Come live in Eisenhower Estates! Episodes of "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It to Beaver" loop on your television, there's a virtual 1957 Chevy Bel-Air parked in your driveway, and the sound of a dozen dads mowing their lawns wafts in through the window.
If you prefer the 60's, welcome to your new home at Hippie Heights. The Grateful Dead (holograms) are playing a gig in your back yard! That's a fine collection of tie-dies on your washing line, and the smell of patchouli oil and you-know-what permeates the air.
Still under construction: Mullet Manor for fans of the 70's.
Perhaps today's young people will want to end up in Kardashian Korners, where there's dysfunctional family fun 24/7.
Maybe it's just a progression of bending reality to our preferences, as we can do now by getting all our news only from Fox, or MSNBC, or The Daily Mail...and while we're distracted, the powers that be can carry on as usual.
