Virtual Reality

The concept of virtual reality is becoming a popular topic in the technology world. Virtual reality is the idea of using technology to feel as if you are in another world. However, “it old fools two senses”, visual and hearing (Freidman).  People are constantly using technology as a way to solve the issues in their lives, but not in a beneficial method. While we see virtual reality in today’s technology, there is still the future ahead of us with many new technologies and psychological complications.

“The brain often fails to differentiate between virtual experiences and real ones” (Blascovich). By this we can believe that any world that we can see and feel as if we are in it, is the real world. That is a scary thought. “The brain doesn’t much care if an experience is real or virtual. In fact, many people prefer the digital aspects of their lives to physical ones” (Blascovich). When people are in their virtual worlds they can escape the troubles that face them in the real world, so understandably escaping sounds like the better option. However, its clear that the real world problems, do not actually go away. Another problem is that people start to think that the virtual world is real, and in a sense go crazy. They are in the virtual world too much, and it is better than their real world, so they prefer it and accept that as their new reality.

“Thirty years – we should be able to build computers that are as smart as we are” (Friedman). I love technology, however I am not comfortable with the thought of a computer walking around, thinking, talking or living as I am.“A future with human-level artificial intelligence, however produced, raises problems for existing legal, political, and social arrangements” (Friedman). Not only is this scary, but what Ariel Garten says about “thought controlled computing” in the video Know thyself, with a brain scanner is just as frightening. Having technology know things about us and react in certain ways due to our brain waves. Some people, like Ariel Garten, think this technology is a huge revolution, but for someone like me, who thinks technology is going to take over the world one day, this is scary.

The more I study technology, the more I see how it is becoming more invasive into our lives. As I have concluded before, technology is a great thing and helps me out, personally, in so many ways; however, it is so intrusive in so many people’s lives. People do not understand how to escape, and it has become more difficult with the concept of virtual realities being a whole other world for people to escape to. However, I do not think that I am the only one who feels somewhat overwhelmed by technology, and I commend these people. In my own personal opinion, I think that technology needs to take a step back from virtual realities. We have all these other ways to use technology to escape; there is no reason have digital worlds where people become someone else. "Humans continuously search for new varieties and modes of existence, only this time we're doing it via the supposedly cold machinery of digital space" (Blascovich).

Works Cited

Blascovich, J., & Bailenson, J.N. (2011). Infinite Reality - Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution. New York: William Morrow.

Duggan, M., Smith, A., & Rainie, L. (2013). Coming and Going on Facebook. Washington: PEW Internet. 

Garten, A. (2011). Know theyself, with a brain scanner. Toronto: TED.

Friedman, D. (2008). Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World (pp. 275-292). New York: Cambridge University Press.