Will full sensory virtual reality be our downfall

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So in the near/far future we will be able to immerse ourselves in virtual realities indistinguishable from our current perceptual modality. These worlds will be crafted by us and for us. We will have virtual avatars of our design (think manifesting as a lens flare or a disembodied smile) the laws of physics need not applyand we'll be able to alter our own perceptual state in unimaginable ways.

We willalso be able to indulge and unearth the darker recesses of our psyche. What happens to someone with sadomasochistic tendencies when they have the freedom and realism of a virtual world to glut themselves with? What about the schoolchild who plays out simulated shootings and tortures of his school friends?
What about people who choose to hook themselves up with feeding tubes catheters etc and simply live out their existence in virtual reality? Is that wrong or simply evolution's means of selecting out the dreamers from the cold hard reality-ists?

How will all this change us as a species? What will happen when the real world becomes a pale imitation of the virtual world with all its variegated splendor.

How do you convince the body dysmorphic to dispense with their ideal hand crafted avatar and take on their cage of flesh and bone? How do you convince someone with muscular dystrophy that the real world is far better than their fantasy virtual scapes where they can leap hundreds of feet into the air and freefall from the outer atmosphere only to land lightly on their feet?

Is it realistic to expect a mass migration of humanity into these worlds where they effectively become gods? How many generations will it take before children will grow up with little distinction between the real and the virtual.

Augmented reality and human enhancement, with a touch of memetic engineering. It helps a lot if the real world isn't a crapsack, too.

Those who use it to carry out their darkest desires will effectively sequester themselves. If we have fully immersive VR, then that may well cause crime to plummet, as people carry out their fantasies inside computers.

Its very speculative... it really could go either way and the only equivalent we have is computer game violence reuslts from which are inconclusive. I would think that crime would be affected minimally. The lowering of crime caused by the extra outlet would be offset by the effect of being able to relive violent crime over and over again requiring greater levels of said violence to achieve satiety.

Maybe this movie might answer the question?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJer9aivOrA[/youtube]

One important thing to keep in mind is the "law of acclimation". Ever wonder why hard core drug addicts need there fix just to feel normal? Imagine one day, eveybody in the world got the power to fly like Peter Pan. What do you think would happen on that first day. Everybody would be enjoying there new founded powers like it was the ultimate roller coaster ride. but what do you think will happen weeks, months, even years down the road. eventually, everybody will take it for granite. flying will be about as exciting as walking once was. So what's my point? I don't think as humans, we can create the ultimate utopian paradise fairy fantasy world and be happy for long in it and the "law of acclimation" will see to that.

Will we now? Hm, I must have not gotten the memo.

I say that because you speak as though it's a fact, and I think that it is anything but. First, you have to consider what would be required to create such a virtual reality. For one, it would have to link directly with your brain. To do something like that, we would have to completely map the human brain, and basically figure out how to manipulate your own thoughts without causing any sort of harm. This is a huge technological advancement that I don't see us making any time soon, if at all. Imagine trying to go through the FDA for testing rights to a brain manipulation machine! And imagine the flak you would get from all sorts of political/religious groups!

Second, a virtual reality would be, at its core, a computer program. Sure, we may develop AI and advance our processing capabilities a billion-fold, but can you imagine the effort and computing power that would be required to fully recreate every little detail of a single city, much less an entire planet? If we get this far, I could potentially see simulations popping up that mimic certain events with pretty high accuracy...similar to the flight simulators of today. But, I don't forsee anything being developed that could actually replace the entire world. Even if we had the ability, would we have the desire and motivation to put forth the immense effort required to do so?

A lot of people consider extreme technological advancement as an inevitability, but I think that we give ourselves far too much credit in that regard. After all, it took us what, 100,000 years just to get to where we are today! (Yeah, I know most of that was in the past 3,000 or so lol)

We already have a connectome of the brain which shows either white or grey matter connectivity. Technological progress advances at such a rate that within 50years we will have mapped enough to be able to create convincing illusions. We dont need a complete map either. We only need to replicate sensory data. The military appliccations will drive this eventually.


It would happen incrementally as a result of discoveries in other fields and the machine itself wouldnt bemarketed as brain manipulation.Brain implants will become far more common in the future. We already have deep brain stimulation. Soon some implants will become cosmetic if you will or at least not medically urgent.



Quantum computing - thats all that needs to be said




And the progress of advancement increases exponentially. Map the major developments and we go from epochs to centuries etc

This may all turn outto be a terrible thing at any rate.

The hedonic treadmill too. Happiness tends to descend to a basline level despite life altering events. This works both ways too. The bankrupt and lottery winners alike. Problem is that we''ll work outhow to eliminate that biological negative feedback mechanism. Or alternatively we may learn how to raise one;s hedonic setpoint. Governments could manipulate something like that in a brave new world type scenario.

This topic is something that many science fiction writers have tackled including, but not limited to, the entire genre of Cyberpunk. It's a natural thing to think/write about given how immersive our entertainment is becoming. A common theme in these various works is that it isn't the downfall of the species (because the species continues unchanged in the DNA of the people shut out of this technology by lack of access) but it is the downfall of the people who indulge in it.

Our physical bodies do need the upkeep of muscular engagement with the world. When that stops happening, the body atrophies, as happens with long term coma patients. Sometimes the physical consequences of ignoring your body in favor of immersive entertainment happen much faster.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/35 ... -40-hours/

That mode of death would become a lot more commonplace if/when the technology you are envisioning happens. It would be the downfall of lots of people. But not the species as a whole. Not everybody would have access to this type of technology. Or would only be able to dabble in it very occasionally. They would be the ones reproducing and raising children. They would be the meek that inherit the earth.

I would hate to live in my mind. It's already bad enough. I think this could be used to ill purpose too - like to torture people.