VR is getting more and more popular. The first reason would be - we now have computers powerful enough for it to be possible. The second reason - people want it because it’s so natural. And the latter is the main reason. VR is such a demanded thing that corporations spend millions (or maybe rather hundreds of millions) on it. Some even rename companies to emphasize their direction towards VR (I’ll give you a hint, otherwise you’ll never guess - starts with M). No shit that it is the next big deal. But is the existence of VR so simple? This article would be a pessimistic look at VR. Fans of Black Mirror might like it.
What is VR really?
The simplest definition is - it’s just an interface. Yep, that’s it - it’s just an interface. And what is an interface? Every simplest freaking possible thing has an interface. For example a glass (like the one I’m drinking the wine from right now), a chair (yeah, it’s comfortable to write a blog post in a sitting position), or a laptop (yep, I’m a real creative genius). So all of those have interfaces - a way of interacting with them. That’s what the interface is.
But, in that sense, reality has an interface too. And living beings have a way to interact with it - through the sense organs. Have you ever thought about it this way? It’s just that simple.
So what is the VR? It’s an interface to virtual reality. Feel it. Virtual reality. Not the real reality (RR later).
VR is soooo gooood
RR is honest and brutal. It doesn’t lie - it is what it is. And it’s brutal - one serious mistake and you’re dead. Having both these characteristics makes it real. If reality is not honest or brutal it’s not a real reality anymore. So is the VR honest and brutal? Rhetorical question…
In VR you can be anyone you can dream of. There you can fly, swim, change aggregate state, and so on. Simply put - there you can do limitless things. Probably the saying “imagination is your only limit” was meant to describe VR from the beginning. It’s not honest.
So, as we agreed earlier, VR is just an interface to “made-up” reality. But the problem is that it’s just too good. One really can’t be sure of whether what he/she looks/hears/feels/smells is RR or VR. And that, truly, is the main problem - VR is too good. It’s so good that it can be “confused” with RR.
Avoidance space
The next stop in this “blogpost reality” is avoidance. Some might have heard that the human brain searches for the easiest path. Which is logical - why spend more time/resources than needed? But there is a sneaky trap hiding in there. VR is so good that people might find salvation there. It might become a medium like alcohol or drugs - a place to hide from real reality. In “reality” that is not so brutal and so honest. And that’s a problem. Alcohol is legal “avoidance place”. VR might, partly, be the same.
Plato, cave
You must have heard about the “Cave” written by Plato. The Matrix movie is based on it. The story goes like this. There are men chained in a way that they can only see what’s in front of them. And they are looking at a cave wall. Above and behind them, is the real world. With the sun. People are walking there. And the shadows of those people are projected on that wall - the only thing the cavemen can observe. Cavemen see those shadows as a reality. The shadows are everything they were ever experiencing. It’s their’s reality.
Long story short - if it’ll happen to unchain a caveman, and show him a RR, he wouldn’t believe that it’s the RR. He’s convinced that shadows are RR. Just think about it - under the circumstances - would you believe?
Back to the current century. Back to our problem - VR is too good. There is a possibility that someday people will live “full-time” in VR. An even bigger problem is that it’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad. Looks like a step in evolution, but in which direction?
Money
Okay, so let’s say some company created a virtual world where you have an avatar and the characteristics you want. What can be better? You’ve become what you’ve ever dreamt of. Good for you. Or wait… Is it?
Most of the VRs (or games) have “virtual money”. With which you can buy all sorts of things. Like helmet, sword, armor… a car, a house… A partner… But the “magical” part is that somehow you must use fiat money, like USD or EUR. Holy shit! Is this some kind of a portal between the two worlds? Yep! Precisely designed! Margins go to the designers.
When you’re earning money in RR you have to spend some of it on keeping yourself alive. Like food, clothes, vanilla ice cream and other vital things. Does this work the other way around? Yeah, it is. For creators. The creators will earn some money which they’ll be able to “teleport” to the RR. But, inevitably, a lot of people will be spending keeping themselves alive money on a place where they can feel good. And that’s a problem. And an even bigger problem (aha, another one) is that there is no regulation for that. It would be nice to have one someday because billion-dollar corporations care about their profits, not people’s well-being.
Bad case
I’m writing this in 2022. russia is trying to occupy Ukraine. And to justify it at least somehow they are constantly coming up with new reasons. They don’t even call it a war, but a “special operation”. There good is bad and bad is good. Exactly how Orwell predicted. And people in russia believe it. The vast majority believe everything one stupid little man is telling them. They live in their own reality.
Because of that russia is like a VR. In their reality, they are the best of the best of the best. In their minds, they are the greatest nation. The only, tiny, problem is that it’s all a lie. Everything in russia is a lie. Some of them know it. Most of them suspect it. But all of them deny it. To the world and themselves.
Yeah, the nation with the lowest collective IQ can be compared to VR because they deny facts and reality.
And this is a pessimistic look at VR - it easily can go the wrong way.
The possibility of the goodness
But, of course, VR can, at the same time, be a servant to goodness. It seems to be the next step in the evolution of creativity. To the possible borders of it. Nothing seems to hold such potential for limitless creativity as VR.
That’s a good part about it. Along with all of the dangers that come along.
So how can humanity ensure the purity of VR? And cultivate creativity. Not the retarted version of it like russia. Curious about where it will lead.
Is VR an end or means to an end?
Nuclear bomb - one of the pinnacles of scientific thought. But, at the same time, not the best of creations. The main purpose to create it was to kill other people in huge volumes. The evolution of the technology was applying it for electricity generation - not the safest of the energy sources, but for sure it does the job. Now humans are trying to get rid of it and switch to renewable energy sources. Might the same evolution process be the future of VR?
I would say VR, and especially its current direction, is just a transitional stage to something else. At some point, mankind might realize that it’s too dangerous and should be forbidden (or regulated). Or, also, it might be an inevitable step to something truly good, that we will be able to understand only after going through the dangerous territory. I know - a bit too hyperbolized and pessimistic. But that is the idea - to put it this way. It’s all because VR is a big deal.
The end.