New Delhi: A new AR app has taken things a bit wild, it lets people “block” real individuals in real life. Yes, you heard it right — not only on social media, but in your actual physical world, through your phone or AR glasses. Some find it fun and quite ingenious; many others are deeply alarmed at the ethical dimensions involved.
Here’s how the app works: You point your camera at someone, and the app conceals them, making them invisible to you. In other words, that person disappears or vanishes in your personal AR view. To the user, that feels like you’re ignoring someone in the real world-but only in your own augmented vision. To others, nothing changes: You still see them, and they still see you.
Sounds like science fiction? Probably. But a number of ethicists and psychologists raise red flags. What does it mean for relationships when you can block anyone with your camera? Couldn’t that hurt human connection? Isn’t that a way to avoid difficult conversations instead of working through them? Some fear people will start using this app to skip talking to friends, family members, or strangers altogether.
Added to that are concerns about privacy and consent. A person who is blocked in AR doesn’t even know it. That could feel creepy or unfair. What if someone starts blocking people who look different from them, or with whom they disagree? Is this app going to widen social divides or create some sort of strange, isolated AR bubble around people?
The developers behind the app say it’s just a new tool-a way for people to control their AR experience and cut down on distractions they don’t want. It’s not, they say, intended to supplant real-world interaction. But to critics, it’s a dangerous step toward sequestering people in augmented realities when it becomes easier to pretend other humans do not exist.
