How this channel uses VR In the channel's material, VR (virtual reality) appears as a case study in the slow, unpredictable diffusion of technology — a striking contrast with AI's sudden prominence. Kevin Kelly was first shown VR by Jaron Lanier in 1987 and was completely blown away, thinking this is the future. [^61690999-0d4e-55b2-8a8b-0a7efc5efe59] What actually changed - Surprisingly, the VR of that era isn't that much different from today's — the core technology changed little over decades. - The real change was cost: what was multi-million-dollar hardware in 1987 is roughly $100 now. - Even so, Kelly has been very surprised at how slow VR's arrival has been, and suggests VR is still waiting for its LLM moment — a breakthrough that makes it suddenly feel essential. Why this matters VR serves as the counterpoint to AI's story in this material: AI is framed as a 50-year overnight success — decades of work culminating in sudden ubiquity — while VR shows that even a convincing future technology can take decades and a massive price collapse without ever reaching its moment. Good predictions are rare; slow diffusion is normal. - VR = immersive technology first shown to Kelly in 1987. - The technology changed little; the price collapsed from millions to ~$100. - Adoption has been unexpectedly slow — VR is still waiting for its LLM moment.