During our last class, implications of the Metaverse were brought up. Are any of you familiar with Ready Player One? It's a sci-fi novel written by Ernest Cline in 2011. It was also made into a movie by Steven Spielberg in 2018. The basic premise is a dystopian in the near future of 2045 where the world is filled with the consequences of war, poverty, and climate change. The escape from their world? The Oasis--a sophisticated universe of virtual reality that is eerily similar to what the Metaverse may hope to one day become. Ready Player One brings up questions about what is lost with such dependence on this system including loss of real human connection. I found this quote particularly interesting:
"...I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real."
It seems like you can't deny the connection that can be made in the digital world. However, I don't think that it will ever be able to fully replace in-person interaction. If the pandemic has taught me anything, it's that seeing people on screens doesn't do justice to being with them face to face. Who knows? Maybe one day technology will advance to the point that meeting someone virtually will not feel any different than meeting in-person. I suppose time will tell.
I remember "Ready Player One," I used to love that book. It's always a little scary when a dystopian novel begins manifesting in the real world, which I think is the relationship between the Metaverse and The Oasis. I totally agree, online learning taught me that online connections cannot compare to in person learning, both on an educational and social level. I love the quote you included; I think happiness is an ultimate goal of many people and virtual interactions cannot supply happiness in the fullest sense. But part of me remembers being younger and interacting in chat rooms online with some of my best friends that I would never meet in person, so I wonder where this line is drawn between true friendship and "real" friendship? Awesome post, Maria!
ReplyDeleteVirtual and real are distinctly and qualitatively different experiences, for those of us who've known both. Will humans of the future continue to know both, and draw that distinction? That's out of our hands. Our question is: how will humans in our time interact? Will we rush heedlessly into Zuck's (or someone's) self-serving corporate vision of what it means to experience life and one another? Will we insist on communications technology that respects our humanity?
ReplyDeleteIt started with reading the written word (touch, sight, and imagination) went on to radio (sound and your imagination) then black & white television (sight, sound, and limited imagination) color TV (enhanced sight, sound, and even more limited need for imagination) the internet (touch, sight, sound, emotion, and unlimited imagination) and now the metaverse (touch, sight, sound, smell/taste could be added, and with VR a simulation of motion it can add to the intensity of emotion). It is getting closer to a total sensory experience. Yet, I think there are more subtle senses and experiences involved in direct contact with others and the real world that are still missing and may never be duplicated. How would the deep and spiritual knowing of another person (heart to heart) ever be duplicated virtually? How do you teach a computer when to laugh nervously at a funeral when you hear a quirky story about a loved one you are grieving deeply? How is the bonding between parents and a newborn experienced virtually?
ReplyDeleteThough I am unfamiliar with "Ready Player One," I definitely will be checking it out. However, I am familiar with the metaverse and how numerous companies have sought to enter into this domain. To me, it seems like a game. Personally, I do not see life changing too much. I can see certain aspects of life perhaps changing, such as school, but some field's such as medicine would be hard to replace. I guess you're right, only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteI would like to build off of what you said, and maybe move it in another direction. I think one of the important things to think about is that this dystopian world has also been ruined by the lack of creativity. Yes personal interaction is limited, and this might be a symptom, or the cause of the loss of creativity. The entirety of the book, but especially the movie, is a bunch of references after reference. The world no longer created new ideas, all it could do is combine old ideas into a "metaverse" instead of creating anything new. Much like at the fall of the Roman empire, or any country fo that matter, they grasped with their last breath at the old, instead of striving for something new.
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