Introduction to Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) technology represents the convergence of several major forces in modern postindustrial life: big tech, novelty consumer demand, and interactive digital spaces. VR headsets promise immersive experiences in gaming, work, exercise, and entertainment, but their implications extend beyond these applications. Johnstone Family professor of psychology Steven Pinker explored the psychological and social dimensions of VR after experimenting with a Meta Quest device.
The Allure of Virtual Reality
At the center of VR’s allure is its ability to create “presence,” the feeling of being physically situated in a virtual environment. Pinker, an authority in visual cognition, likens VR to stereo photography, which uses offset images to supply a three-dimensional effect. VR builds on this principle, engaging stereo vision, peripheral stimulation, and real-time motion tracking to mimic the world. The result’s a vivid immersion that far surpasses the experience of viewing a laptop monitor or movie screen.
The Meta device can even replicate the property of peripheral vision, which plays an important role on this realism. “There’s an awful lot of knowledge given within the contours of vision,” Pinker explains, which is an “enormously necessary cue to spatial orientation [and] balance.” Attempting to face on one leg with eyes closed proves the purpose—yogis aside, balance is frequently lost quite quickly. “Even with the inner ear, the vestibular system,” Pinker continues, “the visual system gives an enormous amount of knowledge concerning the body’s orientation in space.”
The Limits of Virtual Reality
When a VR headset is worn, the virtual world stays still despite external movement. Simultaneously, parts of the wearer’s body move with them, since the computer updates the user’s view of the world depending on head position. This creates an illusion of peripheral vision—establishing a lifelike digital quality.
Eye Contact and Social Connection
Certain key qualities of vision—Including eye contact—are lost when wearing VR headsets. Eye contact, Pinker explains, generates “common knowledge,” a shared understanding vital for social coordination and trust. This is the principle of “You know that I do know, you already know that I do know that you already know”…ad infinitum—or, the recursive belief state wherein A knows X, B knows X, A knows that B knows X, B knows that A knows X, and so forth. This social property, Pinker explains, is “[N]ecessary for coordination, for agreeing to rendezvous, for agreeing on a tech standard, for agreeing to make use of paper currency, for agreeing to drive on the suitable—but in addition, to agree on social relationships.
One of the simplest ways to generate common knowledge just isn’t necessarily by pondering (“I do know that she knows in a different way”), but by establishing eye contact. “When I look into your eyes, I’m taking a look at the a part of you that’s taking a look at the a part of me that’s taking a look at the a part of you—and that immediately generates this set of recursive knowledge states,” says Pinker. These knowledge states are not possible to copy when wearing VR headsets, even when interacting with essentially the most sophisticated avatars, which underscores the restrictions of VR in replacing real relationships.
Positive Use Cases for Virtual Reality
On the opposite hand, acting as a distinct user in virtual reality can have quite a few positive use cases—including in healthcare, education, military training, and in mental health treatment contexts. Imagine, for instance, playing your favorite character in a highly realistic digital rendering of a fictional world, or acting as a distinct version of yourself with a setting you’ve all the time desired to visit. These same principles can as a substitute be applied to immersive virtual reality surgical simulation, in gamifying educational lessons or studying history in simulated historical worlds, in providing protected and realistic training environments for soldiers in digital military environments, or for therapeutic treatment.
The Proteus Effect
These examples are all made stronger by the “Proteus effect,” which describes people’s tendency to adapt behaviorally to the qualities related to their projected physical appearance (i.e. gender, race, physical attractiveness). The ability to embody an especially appealing avatar might encourage increased confidence or improved performance. Pinker suggests that by inhabiting digital personas of various genders, ethnicities, or body types, individuals can gain fresh perspectives on others’ experiences.
Ethical Concerns Underlying Virtual Reality
Accompanying the guarantees of VR, with the headset market alone projected to turn out to be an over $100 billion market by 2030, are serious ethical challenges—particularly regarding data privacy. VR devices collect vast amounts of user data, including eye movements and emotional responses, to refine engagement and drive consumption. This level of surveillance raises concerns about autonomy and the commodification of human experience. Recent decisions by Meta, corresponding to relaxing content moderation protocols across its platforms, highlight the strain between technological innovation and ethical responsibility.
Latanya Sweeney, director of the Data Privacy Lab at Harvard, has explored the societal implications of emerging technologies. Her work underscores the necessity for robust regulations to deal with privacy and surveillance concerns. The impact of recent tech on surveillance and privacy is yet to be fully defined and controlled; and, as VR technology advances, these ethical considerations will turn out to be increasingly urgent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, virtual reality technology has the potential to revolutionize various elements of our lives, from entertainment and education to healthcare and social interactions. However, it also raises necessary questions on the restrictions of virtual reality, the importance of eye contact and social connection, and the moral concerns surrounding data privacy and surveillance. As VR technology continues to advance, it’s crucial that we address these concerns and be certain that its development is guided by a commitment to moral responsibility and respect for human autonomy. By doing so, we will harness the facility of VR to create a more immersive, interactive, and connected world, while also protecting the values and principles which might be essential to our humanity.
