Virtual Reality (18)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Flynn codes a digital avatar, Clu, in an attempt to hack into the mainframe of ENCOM. However, when Flynn fails to get Clu past the virtual, video-game-like defenses, Clu is captured and violently interrogated by a mysterious figure in the virtual world.
- Kinolab
- 1982
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- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Artificial Intelligence as Servants to Humans
Flynn codes a digital avatar, Clu, in an attempt to hack into the mainframe of ENCOM. However, when Flynn fails to get Clu past the virtual, video-game-like defenses, Clu is captured and violently interrogated by a mysterious figure in the virtual world.
How can we program AI to perform tasks remotely for us? How can AI be used to remotely hack into public or private systems? Does every program designed to complete a task, even programs such as malware, have a life of its own? What are potential consequences to training AI solely to do the bidding of humans?
TRON: Clu-
- 15 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Danny, Karl, and Theo are a trio of friends who all once lived together. In their adult years, after Danny and Theo have married, Karl gifts Danny with the most recent release of their favorite fighting video game, Striking Vipers X. In this virtual reality simulation, Danny and Karl are able to become their avatars, Lance and Roxette respectively, and feel pain and pleasure in the virtual world through them. After the avatars begin to form an intimate connection within the virtual reality video game, Danny, Theo, and Karl find themselves needing to negotiate new terms of their relationships with one another, struggling to find if connections in the virtual world can coexist with connections in the real world.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 15 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Relationships and Exploration of Identity in Virtual Worlds
Danny, Karl, and Theo are a trio of friends who all once lived together. In their adult years, after Danny and Theo have married, Karl gifts Danny with the most recent release of their favorite fighting video game, Striking Vipers X. In this virtual reality simulation, Danny and Karl are able to become their avatars, Lance and Roxette respectively, and feel pain and pleasure in the virtual world through them. After the avatars begin to form an intimate connection within the virtual reality video game, Danny, Theo, and Karl find themselves needing to negotiate new terms of their relationships with one another, struggling to find if connections in the virtual world can coexist with connections in the real world.
How do virtual reality worlds allow humans to explore aspects of their sexual or gender identities that they may not have the opportunity to discover in the real world? Do the seemingly limitless possibilities for connection with digital technologies and virtual realities innately pose a threat to the landscape of long term relationships? Should concepts such as sex be built into virtual realities? If it is assumed that the reality is fake and the avatars are distinct from their controllers, do Danny’s actions count as infidelity?
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- 6 min
- Vox
- 2020
Even virtual realities with unrealistic yet believable graphics are able to fool the brain’s sense of perception into believing that the digital environment still operates under the same rules as the real world. Connecting the technologies directly to one’s senses is more immersive than looking at a screen; although human brains have been able to process flat images for a long time, the direct sight connection to two screens with virtual reality makes perception a bit more muddled.
- Vox
- 2020
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- 6 min
- Vox
- 2020
How Virtual Reality Tricks Your Brain
Even virtual realities with unrealistic yet believable graphics are able to fool the brain’s sense of perception into believing that the digital environment still operates under the same rules as the real world. Connecting the technologies directly to one’s senses is more immersive than looking at a screen; although human brains have been able to process flat images for a long time, the direct sight connection to two screens with virtual reality makes perception a bit more muddled.
Should virtual reality ever reach a point where it is indistinguishable from true reality in terms of graphic design or other sensory information? How could such technology be weaponized or abused? How accessible should the most immersive virtual reality technologies be to the general public?
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- 10 min
- The New York Times
- 2021
This article tells the story of Chris Merkle, a former U.S Marine soldier who was able to work through former traumatic memories and PTSD using virtual realities similar to his lived experiences in war as a form of exposure therapy. As virtual reality sets become more affordable and commercialized, and as experts and universities develop more impressive virtual and augmented reality technologies, the opportunities for exposure therapy through VR technology become far more widespread, with the potential to help civilian disorders and traumas as well as those of veterans.
- The New York Times
- 2021
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- 10 min
- The New York Times
- 2021
Virtual Reality Aids in Exposure Therapy
This article tells the story of Chris Merkle, a former U.S Marine soldier who was able to work through former traumatic memories and PTSD using virtual realities similar to his lived experiences in war as a form of exposure therapy. As virtual reality sets become more affordable and commercialized, and as experts and universities develop more impressive virtual and augmented reality technologies, the opportunities for exposure therapy through VR technology become far more widespread, with the potential to help civilian disorders and traumas as well as those of veterans.
How can it be ensured that this type of therapy is accessible to all people? How can it be ensured that this type of therapy does not interfere with other forms of therapy or treatment? Should this become the norm for treating mental health disorders? How might this alter people’s perceptions of reality, for better or for worse?
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1973
Simulacron is a virtual reality full of 10,000 simulated humans who believe themselves to be sentient, but are actually nothing more than programs. The identity units in Simulacron do not know or understand that they are artificial beings, and they behave under the idea that they are real humans. “Real” humans can enter this virtual reality through a brain-computer interface, and control the virtual identity units. Christopher Nobody, a suspect whom Fred is trying to track down, had the revelation that he was an identity unit, and that realization led to a mental breakdown. In following this case, Fred meets Einstein, a virtual unit who desires to join the real world. As Einstein enacts the final stages of this plan, Fred discovers a shocking secret about his own identity. For a similar concept, see the narrative “Online Dating Algorithms” on the Hang the DJ episode of Black Mirror.
- Kinolab
- 1973
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1973
Simulated Humans and Virtual Realities
Simulacron is a virtual reality full of 10,000 simulated humans who believe themselves to be sentient, but are actually nothing more than programs. The identity units in Simulacron do not know or understand that they are artificial beings, and they behave under the idea that they are real humans. “Real” humans can enter this virtual reality through a brain-computer interface, and control the virtual identity units. Christopher Nobody, a suspect whom Fred is trying to track down, had the revelation that he was an identity unit, and that realization led to a mental breakdown. In following this case, Fred meets Einstein, a virtual unit who desires to join the real world. As Einstein enacts the final stages of this plan, Fred discovers a shocking secret about his own identity. For a similar concept, see the narrative “Online Dating Algorithms” on the Hang the DJ episode of Black Mirror.
What purposes can virtual reality “laboratories” full of simulated humans serve in terms of research in fields such as sociology? Is it justifiable to make programs which believe themselves to be sentient humans, yet deny them access to the “real world”? How can AI mental health be reassured, especially when it comes to existential crises like the one Fred has?
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2020
Nora works as an “angel” figure, or assistant, in the digital afterlife known as Lakeview. Her job is to help digitally immortal residents of this afterlife, such as Nathan, acclimate to their surroundings and their digital existences. However, Nora decides to take her breaks from work in the same virtual reality in which she operates during her job.
- Kinolab
- 2020
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2020
Real vs. Virtual Assistance
Nora works as an “angel” figure, or assistant, in the digital afterlife known as Lakeview. Her job is to help digitally immortal residents of this afterlife, such as Nathan, acclimate to their surroundings and their digital existences. However, Nora decides to take her breaks from work in the same virtual reality in which she operates during her job.
Should virtual reality spaces be operated, moderated, and served by human customer service reps, to ensure the best experience? Or is it possible to automate customer service too? How might virtual assistants such as Siri change the nature of people’s relationships with human service reps? Should the people who work on VR projects be given special access to it? Could VR worlds be used as a viable way for employees to relax during breaks?