We're still in the wild west frontier of VR development, a place where the rules haven't even been written yet. These words from Steven Johnson on the adjacent possible are more prescient than ever:
"The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself...
...The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations."
Developers have learned a lot since first getting their kits. Those who own development kits play an important central role in this virtual dawn, just as important as the engineers working on the hardware, because they spread the virtual experience first-hand to the public. I've demoed the Oculus Rift to hundreds of people so far. Most of them didn't know a thing about Virtual Reality before stepping inside. One of the fun things about owning one of these is being able to see such a variety of first time impressions, and hear a variety of people's thoughts on the subject.
I'm going to categorize and explore some of the most common and interesting quotes, criticisms, ideas and first-time impressions by people below.
"The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself...
...The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations."
Developers have learned a lot since first getting their kits. Those who own development kits play an important central role in this virtual dawn, just as important as the engineers working on the hardware, because they spread the virtual experience first-hand to the public. I've demoed the Oculus Rift to hundreds of people so far. Most of them didn't know a thing about Virtual Reality before stepping inside. One of the fun things about owning one of these is being able to see such a variety of first time impressions, and hear a variety of people's thoughts on the subject.
I'm going to categorize and explore some of the most common and interesting quotes, criticisms, ideas and first-time impressions by people below.
Fears and Anxieties
"Can you get stuck in this thing?"
"Is this good for your eyes and your brain?"
"People are going to get lost in here."
"No one is going to go outside anymore. Civilization is doomed."
Fear is pretty common when it comes to any new, bleeding edge technology. As we spiral deeper into a technological singularity, the rapid pace of change is very unnerving for a lot of people. As we get closer to the consumer launch of Oculus Rift, and most certainly afterwards as it becomes mainstream, I predict we will see a lot more backlash towards VR. After all, it's definitely not for everyone, and some of their concerns may actually be valid.
Some people simply don't like untethering from their bodies, and that's okay. I've had a few people find the transition into the digital world very uncomfortable and frightening, and wanted to take the Rift off right away.
The two types of people who tend to do really well in the Rift their first times are people who play games regularly, and people who take drugs regularly. Gamers, for one, are very used to immersive entertainment. They regularly vegetate the body and seek new worlds, new places and systems for the mind to explore. Psychonauts too are used to un-tethering from their body and experiencing new perceptions and 'flavors' of reality through the use of chemical technologies. The willingness to submit to the experience of VR induces a sort of self-hypnosis and immensely adds to immersion.
"Can you get stuck in this thing?"
"Is this good for your eyes and your brain?"
"People are going to get lost in here."
"No one is going to go outside anymore. Civilization is doomed."
Fear is pretty common when it comes to any new, bleeding edge technology. As we spiral deeper into a technological singularity, the rapid pace of change is very unnerving for a lot of people. As we get closer to the consumer launch of Oculus Rift, and most certainly afterwards as it becomes mainstream, I predict we will see a lot more backlash towards VR. After all, it's definitely not for everyone, and some of their concerns may actually be valid.
Some people simply don't like untethering from their bodies, and that's okay. I've had a few people find the transition into the digital world very uncomfortable and frightening, and wanted to take the Rift off right away.
The two types of people who tend to do really well in the Rift their first times are people who play games regularly, and people who take drugs regularly. Gamers, for one, are very used to immersive entertainment. They regularly vegetate the body and seek new worlds, new places and systems for the mind to explore. Psychonauts too are used to un-tethering from their body and experiencing new perceptions and 'flavors' of reality through the use of chemical technologies. The willingness to submit to the experience of VR induces a sort of self-hypnosis and immensely adds to immersion.
Virtual Reality is, as Terrance Mckenna noted decades ago, a digital drug. I think as we further understand and respect it's potential, it will be seen as a safe alternative to the psychedelic experience. Safe meaning that you aren't committed to the experience and can take off your VR gear whenever you want. As Jeremy Bailenson, the founder of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, notes these experiences are not free experiences. They affect the mind the same exact way any non-virtual experience would. It's obvious but not clear: If you get attacked by a virtual T-Rex in a virtual jungle, your heart is beating, you're sweating, you experience the very same neural response, the amygdala reacts accordingly, etc. We may one day see the first VR-induced PTSD, and court cases of people testifying they swear they thought they were in reality, or vice versa.
The real question is what kind of impact VR will have on human consciousness and society as a whole. If we want to be lazy but have a little fun, we can just turn to any one of the plethora of dystopian sci-fi stories. What happens when our virtual realities are no longer distinguishable from our actual reality, when we turn to beautiful paradises to escape our hellish reality, and when we become imprisoned by intelligent machines bent on harvesting our potential and kinetic energy? Is the Matrix the worst case scenario?
An interesting ancient Luddite named Socrates had an aversion towards the technology of writing during his time, because he believed it would atrophy mans memory. And he was right, in a way. Think back to those ancient bards who could relay long epics and stories orally. By adopting the technology of writing, we outsourced part of our memories to papyrus, stone, and many other materials. Today, we continue to outsource parts of our brains to handle many tasks. Is it such a bad thing?
Our memories float in binary like digital ghosts in the form of text, pictures and videos. Our smartphones tell us where to go and where we need to be, and they allow us technologically-enhanced telepathy--the gift of sharing our thoughts and words to anyone, anywhere, across the earth at the speed of light.
The trans-humanist idea is: As humans, we assimilate new technologies into our lives and we adapt to them. From the dawn of spoken language, to eye glasses, to shoes and clothes, to trains, cars, computers and everything in between. As Erik Davis says, "Human beings have been cyborgs from year zero. It is our lot to live in societies that invent tools that shape society and the individuals in it."
How will we assimilate and adapt to VR?
The truth is we just don't yet know the societal implications of Virtual Reality. What we do know is this is uncharted territory. As for me, I prefer to reflect on the positive things VR will bring about, in hopes of channeling something beautiful.
The real question is what kind of impact VR will have on human consciousness and society as a whole. If we want to be lazy but have a little fun, we can just turn to any one of the plethora of dystopian sci-fi stories. What happens when our virtual realities are no longer distinguishable from our actual reality, when we turn to beautiful paradises to escape our hellish reality, and when we become imprisoned by intelligent machines bent on harvesting our potential and kinetic energy? Is the Matrix the worst case scenario?
An interesting ancient Luddite named Socrates had an aversion towards the technology of writing during his time, because he believed it would atrophy mans memory. And he was right, in a way. Think back to those ancient bards who could relay long epics and stories orally. By adopting the technology of writing, we outsourced part of our memories to papyrus, stone, and many other materials. Today, we continue to outsource parts of our brains to handle many tasks. Is it such a bad thing?
Our memories float in binary like digital ghosts in the form of text, pictures and videos. Our smartphones tell us where to go and where we need to be, and they allow us technologically-enhanced telepathy--the gift of sharing our thoughts and words to anyone, anywhere, across the earth at the speed of light.
The trans-humanist idea is: As humans, we assimilate new technologies into our lives and we adapt to them. From the dawn of spoken language, to eye glasses, to shoes and clothes, to trains, cars, computers and everything in between. As Erik Davis says, "Human beings have been cyborgs from year zero. It is our lot to live in societies that invent tools that shape society and the individuals in it."
How will we assimilate and adapt to VR?
The truth is we just don't yet know the societal implications of Virtual Reality. What we do know is this is uncharted territory. As for me, I prefer to reflect on the positive things VR will bring about, in hopes of channeling something beautiful.
Hopes and Dreams
"This could have a lot of therapeutic value..."
"What if one day we could recreate and share our dreams with each other?"
"What if we can feel what it's like to be any gender, race, age or even species?"
"This is going to revolutionize education!"
"This is going to revolutionize architecture!"
"This is going to revolutionize __insert field here__!"
"Half Life 3?"
Most people, while they entertain the dystopic thought-train, are pleasantly surprised and enthusiastic when they come out of the Rift. There's almost always a conversation about what's in store for the future. Whether it be exploring simulations of the human body to witness biological functions first-hand, exploring the solar system, modelling and working in virtual workspaces, the possibilities are endless. I'd say I've convinced about 1/3rd of demo-ers to buy an Oculus Rift when it comes out. Well, they convinced themselves really.
Recently a story broke about Roberta Firstenberg, who was losing a battle with cancer and her encounter with the Oculus Rift.
Her own words express something profound and beautiful:
"This has become like a therapy... when you become a part of the world you already exist in, it helps you put things into perspective... It makes you realize we are all part of this world. This has been so therapeutic it should be put forth as a therapeutic type of thing people can go to and become immersed in... This has been a most valuable experience. After all, that is life. Our experiences."
Roberta's insight is really important. Sometimes we take for granted the simple fact that we have four limbs, are healthy and can walk around outside. I believe that exploration is very important for humans to be happy. After all, we were nomads and hunters and gatherers for most of our evolutionary history. Whether exploring 'real' or virtual worlds, we get a real kick out of it. It's what keeps us going. What's behind that next hill? What's over that mountain? As a species, we have never stopped exploring and we never will. What an amazing boon to our society, that we will now be able to explore digital realms, not bound by matter but only by the imagination. Perhaps even more profound, we will be able to explore these realms together.
"This could have a lot of therapeutic value..."
"What if one day we could recreate and share our dreams with each other?"
"What if we can feel what it's like to be any gender, race, age or even species?"
"This is going to revolutionize education!"
"This is going to revolutionize architecture!"
"This is going to revolutionize __insert field here__!"
"Half Life 3?"
Most people, while they entertain the dystopic thought-train, are pleasantly surprised and enthusiastic when they come out of the Rift. There's almost always a conversation about what's in store for the future. Whether it be exploring simulations of the human body to witness biological functions first-hand, exploring the solar system, modelling and working in virtual workspaces, the possibilities are endless. I'd say I've convinced about 1/3rd of demo-ers to buy an Oculus Rift when it comes out. Well, they convinced themselves really.
Recently a story broke about Roberta Firstenberg, who was losing a battle with cancer and her encounter with the Oculus Rift.
Her own words express something profound and beautiful:
"This has become like a therapy... when you become a part of the world you already exist in, it helps you put things into perspective... It makes you realize we are all part of this world. This has been so therapeutic it should be put forth as a therapeutic type of thing people can go to and become immersed in... This has been a most valuable experience. After all, that is life. Our experiences."
Roberta's insight is really important. Sometimes we take for granted the simple fact that we have four limbs, are healthy and can walk around outside. I believe that exploration is very important for humans to be happy. After all, we were nomads and hunters and gatherers for most of our evolutionary history. Whether exploring 'real' or virtual worlds, we get a real kick out of it. It's what keeps us going. What's behind that next hill? What's over that mountain? As a species, we have never stopped exploring and we never will. What an amazing boon to our society, that we will now be able to explore digital realms, not bound by matter but only by the imagination. Perhaps even more profound, we will be able to explore these realms together.
Art courtesy of Sam Saxton
Virtual Reality right now can be considered a very lonely experience (unless playing a social app like Minecrift, or Riftmax) but once multiplayer applications get better, our avatars will be able to fly together through magical metaverses and embark on all sorts of adventures from the comfort of our own chairs. But these adventures aren't really happening, are they? Of course they are, you experienced it, didn't you?
Perhaps the most profound impact Virtual Reality may have is on our definition of the word REAL. It will shatter the dichotomy between reality and illusion, revealing something more interesting and complex: that there are illusions in your realities and realities in your illusions. As we pull the display over our eyes, it seems we are to return to a state of conscious shamanic animism, where there are many realities and they are all malleable, where the environment is alive and bursting with the pulse of information and life.
I've only barely skimmed the surface on some of the positive and negative outlooks people seem to have about VR. As of right now, the future looks bright. But we must remember that the future is what we decide to make of it. The Luddite's simple fear of advanced technology and rapid change is one thing, but we mustn't be quick to dismiss valid concerns and criticisms, we must accept and explore them with as much passion we devote to building our dreamworlds.
Some words of wisdom from Terrence McKenna:
"The starships of the future, in other words the vehicles of the future, which will explore the high frontier of the unknown will be syntactical. The engineers of the future will be poets. This is what virtual reality holds out to us. The possibility of walking in to the constructs of the imagination. In a way culture is that. I mean our cities, bridges, highways, airliners and art galleries are condensations out of the imagination, but at tremendous cost because we must make them out of matter. Once we can make them out of light, out of electrons, then we won't build skyscrapers a hundred and twenty stories high, we'll build them as high as we want. Roof height will no longer be a factor ruled by cost effectiveness and gravity, it will be a parameter ruled by the imagination as will all other parameters and then we will discover what man truly is when we are able to erect, stabilize, share and explore our dreams in a kind of virtual hyperspace that, carefully analyzed, is seen to be linguistic. That's what its connectors are made out of, that's what its ferro-concrete and steel is, is the edifice of language. This is what the stuff of the imagination is made of and I think this is what we're moving toward."