I’m Afraid Virtual Reality Will Steal Our Reality
How Swinging a Sword in a Virtual World Made Me Crash Into Reality
Virtual reality has been with us for several years. I tried it a while ago, but it wasn’t until recently that I had the opportunity to use the new Quest 3 regularly.
The first thing I tried was a game called “Blade and Sorcery,” where you are a swordsman whose goal is to kill as many other warriors as possible.
A warning: this article is not an outraged cry against violence in video games. I don’t believe that acts in fiction translate to reality, and I have always found anti-campaigns against video games, heavy metal, role-playing games, anime, and any other form of art perceived as “violent” by older generations to be ridiculous.
No, what concerns me is the level of realism this game achieves.
After 10 minutes of swinging swords, piercing chests, and severing limbs, I forgot I was in a game and hit the wall hard.
At that moment, I realized I was playing and had completely lost my sense of reality (of course, I also hurt myself quite a bit).
I think the moment you remember you’re not in the real world is only understandable for those who have had similar experiences.
Well, this loss of the sense of reality is what worries me.
And that’s considering that right now the graphics are quite poor, and the experiences, though tremendously fun, are limited to what the game’s script dictates.
But in a few years, especially with AI, I think we will be able to generate any scenario we want.
And that is a grave danger.
No More Magnum Opus
We all have difficulties and frustrations in life. But with the AI+VR combo, that is going to be lost.
We will be able to be whoever we want to be, with as much power as we want to wield.
And I fear that this will cause a large part of us to stop participating in the real world.
Imagine being able to be the god of your own world: any desire you’ve ever had you can fulfill, any frustration you can alleviate.
In principle, there’s nothing wrong with those things.
On the contrary, I think everyone should strive to achieve their goals and redeem their past and present. The problem is that many of us will not do it in reality because it will be infinitely easier to achieve it in the virtual world.
Why spend an hour a day, every day, for years exercising my body if I can have the perfect body instantly?
Why go through all sorts of difficult experiences with other people, creating a deep relationship, when I can have my perfect friends and partner just by wishing it?
I fear that in the near future a significant part of our peers will spend all their leisure hours immersed in individual virtual worlds. Because, as we’ve said, the sense of reality in a virtual world is very strong today, and it will be indistinguishable from the real world in no time.
The Longing for Truth
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“Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas”
It is worth keeping this paraphrase of Aristotle always in mind, as perhaps in it we find salvation from such a pathetic future.
This phrase means “We are friends of Plato, but the truth is a better friend”, and it points to something that resides deep within the human being: the longing for truth.
We always want the truth.
There are couples formed out of fear of loneliness, and they are never happy because they know there is no real desire in the relationship.
Something tragic? It may be, but that feeling that they are living a lie is what can drive them to seek a relationship of real attraction, and thus improve their character in the process.
The same goes for people who resort to plastic surgery to improve their appearance, or to social networks to boast of a life they do not possess.
These words may be harsh, and some may see something positive in people with difficult lives being able to alleviate their pain through virtual experiences.
I understand that view, but I believe that excessive compassion is a poison for the recipient.
Not Everything Is Bad
Applications of VR like Pianovision allow complete beginners to learn to play the piano.
Other physical training games have helped thousands of people lose weight and gain great aerobic capacity.
VRChat helps anyone practice the languages they are learning in a much more interactive and immediate way.
Like any technology, virtual reality will be of great help to humanity, or a tremendous trap, depending on the use we decide to give it.
I have decided to be optimistic and believe that the future will be better thanks to these devices, but precisely to allow us to be optimistic, the best strategy is to know the possible dangers.