\r\nA thoroughgoing autodidact with a creative and unruly spirit, the entrepreneur Laszlo Arnould is the spearhead behind PopulAR. Launched in 2019 and already a multiple award winner, this ecosystem operating independently of the major platforms focuses its energies on the meaningful creation of content in augmented reality (AR), as a means of popularising this technology.\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n
Having spent his childhood between the south of France, Scotland and then Brussels, Laszlo Arnould always felt hemmed in by the pigeonholes of the standard education system. At university, he took up studies in a double Bachelor\u2019s in economics. He also endeavoured to become a professional tennis player, before following an intuition at the age of 25: what he wanted above all was to take a creative path. \u2018I initially wanted to take an internship at a fashion designer, because I liked drawing and design, but I didn\u2019t stay for very long,\u2019 recounts Laszlo. \u2018I was bothered by this industry\u2019s toxic mindset. Then I discussed an idea for an app with a friend, but at that time we didn\u2019t know how to code. We therefore enrolled at the Wagon.\u2019 The acclaimed Made-in-France school which today trains coders from around the world. And that was the real eye-opener. Coder, growth hacker, a tutor of code, up until finally becoming a start-up creator and coach\u2026 He wore a stack of different hats before falling into the world of extended reality technologies by following another of his intuitions: in order to function in a not-too-distant future, society will have to find ways of harnessing these technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nEver since they first emerged, the XR technologies milieu has had few problems regarding inclusivity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
It was a few months ago that the kingkong<\/em> editorial team first crossed paths with Laszlo Arnould, at the XR4Heritage festival (which we spoke to you about here<\/a> and here<\/a>). On the programme: debates and lectures focused on imagining how to reaffirm the value of our historical heritage by making use of XR (or Extended Reality) technologies. An expression which simultaneously includes augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR). Invited to take part in a panel to discuss inclusivity in these new technological universes, Laszlo gives an overview of the current issues during our meeting in his Brussels offices: \u2018Ever since they first emerged, the XR technologies milieu has had few problems regarding inclusivity. In the domain of AR creation, for example, in terms of numbers there are a great deal of women creatives, even more than men. Many non-binary people as well.\u2019
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe wanted to dig a little deeper into this subject and, even if the statistics are still somewhat patchy, we have the feeling that AR may well be more egalitarian than real life. According to AIMagazine<\/em><\/a>, 70% of the sector\u2019s creatives are women. And in the opinion of MarketSplash<\/em><\/a>, on Spark AR Studio, the free software offered by Meta to create augmented reality filters intended for Instagram and Facebook, over half (55%) of the monthly users are women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AR is not (merely) a gadget<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
@johwska<\/a>, @viv_galinari<\/a>, @inidewin_<\/a>, @nadinekolodziey<\/a>, @lauragouillon<\/a>\u2026 The thirty-year-old continues by citing a series of women AR creatives who inspire him daily. They might not mean much to rookies in this field, but on their networks they are amassing tens of, even hundreds of, thousands of followers. For Meta, Snapchat, and also the major cosmetics brands, they create colour-gradient aesthetics filters or ultra-realistic artsy 3D universes. But one question is burning on our lips: isn\u2019t AR a bit of a gimmick, when all is said and done? Laszlo firmly rejects this. \u2018Everyone has already played with a filter to have a good giggle on Instagram, but AR is by no means simply about that.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n