Virtual Reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the Internet was also a dream and so were computers and smart phones. - Mark Zuckerberg
Thrown into a pandemic, that brought our real worlds to a screeching halt, we have embraced and are still embracing the digital world like never before. Sit back and think- we have digitised possibly every area to bring some sense of normalcy in life. Virtual reality is fast becoming our reality!
Remote work- the first after effect of the pandemic- we logged into video conferences and project management tools, socialising- we mourned the loss of it but then jumped on to video calls and watch parties. Retailers are indulging us using the latest in AR/VR – latest collections online allowing us to see how the product would look on us, in our houses. From the confines of our homes, we have been able to virtually tour properties on sale/rent; courtesy real estate companies that have jumped on to the VR wagon.
COVID has forced industries to turn around to fit into Virtual Reality platforms of their own. Let us take ‘Trade Shows’; with travelling being ruled out, the 2.5 trillion-dollar industry is bracing itself to enter the world of virtual reality! And there is a possibility that this might be one of the sectors where business gets better in ‘Virtual Reality’ though some damage will spillover to connected businesses like car rentals, hotels restaurants even airlines.
Now what fascinates me the most is the use of VR in the medical field, where they use it to simulate the brain to levels more than the real world and cure neurological disorders without any drugs. VR has also emerged as a boon for fields that have a high cost of training or is risk heavy like Pilot Training (they use simulators, along with actual training hours) or training in fire-fighting.
Socially, I think VR will create a new trend called Avatars. Just like our social media pages, we would be known for our avatars online post VR. You might have already seen that happening with your children on gaming platforms. They are known by their avatar names on these virtual games, like we are known by our social media handles.
Now to the real reason why the thought of writing this blog occurred.
VR is the depiction of possible worlds and possible selves, which will appear more realistic as internet bandwidths take quantum leaps. Broadly put VR is a medium in which individuals feel that they are in the same space together, without actually being there. But seeing is not believing and virtual reality starts with the premise of seeing and that is where my dilemma with VR begins…
What I have realised is that most things we do in life and are connected to work or perceived to be something that will earn us our wages or salaries, can be performed in VR (if needed). Whether it is about generating more customers for your product or monitoring employees, running a project or even designing new products/services, we don’t mind switching to a virtual platform even if its uncomfortable because saves a lot of time and money. It gives us the satisfaction that we will have more time at hand to do things that are probably social in nature, and doesn’t have a quantifiable output, like spending time with friends and family.
Let me give you an example. A video call is better than a conventional call, a VR meeting would be better than a video call, but video conferencing will never be better than actually meeting our friends. Because unlike work or buying something online, the time we spend with friends is not transactional.
Likewise, AirBnB has introduced virtual experiences, we can travel virtually to different place and immerse ourselves in certain environments. But how do we taste the sushi made by the local chefs or be tempted to try dishes from local cuisines, or smell the aroma of standing in forest just after sunrise? Do you think you will have goosebumps watching Ronaldo playing football on FIFA VR than a real stadium and will the sporting events work without spectators shouting names of their favourite players?
Moving on to bigger issues. Truth, belief & justification are the ways we pass knowledge and experience. You will believe in a person that you meet online being authentic, real. Given what you have seen your belief is justified. However, we have seen the havoc fake accounts have created on social media and their abilities to manipulate news, profiles and even elections. Nearly half of accounts tweeting about corona virus are likely BOTS as per NBC News. So, imagine the fake avatars on VR, imagine the mind illusions that can be created and fed into the system. These systems can use algorithms originally developed in man-machine interactions to machine- machine interactions while still using the virtual avatars. The social hallucination of perceiving, believing and knowing an avatar you meet in virtual reality can be quite easily be programmed to misguide you.
Virtual social networks debuted back in 2003 in the online virtual world called Second Life- an online game where players get to choose their avatars and socially interact with others. We might have seen kids interacting and meeting new players/strangers based on their avatar they choose, and we might be able to relate it to being approached by people on social media chat rooms of FB & Instagram accounts, which seem to legitimate till we prod further to realise it’s a fake account.
As a futurist, I always believe that every new technology can be a boon or a disaster based on how it is used and the time it is introduced. Even though Second Life was introduced in 2003, much before FB & Instagram, I am glad it didn’t get the possible popularity that it might now gain post COVID.
The solution post COVID is probably not to apply VR and other digital technologies to all aspects of our life. Quite a lot of work-life can go into digital, automation and virtual reality. Whereas in our social life we should look at reversing the trend, hold on to reality as it exists. While VR can detect person’s physical & cognitive abilities and prescribe successful therapeutic interventions, staying in the confinement of a room and meeting people in a virtual social space can have a damaging impact on a person’s cognitive functions. It is something that all of us have experienced in varying degrees during this lockdown - the after effects of the lack of touch and social interactions on our mental well-being. I am sure all of us know cases of couples who met on chats and spend their earlier courtship days largely in the digital world and then failed to find the connection in real world interactions!
If we choose to continue our accelerated advance into the virtual world, we will create Avatars the way we create our social media bio, all glorified - connected but disconnected. VR will create more digital facades for real life and take away the human reality from humanity!
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