Going from the previous post, the potential of full dive virtual reality is limitless in terms of scope. Just imagining the number of things, you can do while in a virtual world controlling your avatar with your own body movements, while asleep of course, opens a ton of avenues for uncontested realism and immersion. However, with all that in mind, could it be possible to live a full life in the virtual world instead of the real world? It would be better to think of the virtual space as another undiscovered planet that continuously grows with new developers and new features built in, so in the same sense of moving to a new planet and working there, could people make a living by working and playing in the virtual environment? Would that even be a good idea? These are the types of questions that start to pop up from the enormous scope Full Dive technology introduce with respect to VR titles. In the show, Sword Art Online, players would act as vendors (normally NPCs act as vendors) and would make a living by doing tasks such as smithing, cooking, and trading. Now, if those aspects were taken and the people who did those tasks were given real compensation, I would expect the world to be turned upside down with that one change, and unfortunately, I expect it to change the world for the worst.

In the past two posts, I have been explaining the very potential dangers of implementing a In the past two posts, I have been explaining the very potential dangers of implementing a metaverse in the magnitude as depicted in the anime Sword Art Online. To switch things up, I will talk about the monumental potential a system such as this can bring to the table, creatively and practically. Putting aside the dangers, having a VR metaverse such as the one in Sword Art Online would literally make the fantasies of all game developers in history come true. The feeling of being part of an entirely new world with a rich story and background where the players have complete freedom to explore and be who they want to be. That is what game developers strive to accomplish with each innovation, title, and production phase: to make a completely immersive game. In the case of Sword Art Online, the universe in that show consisted of a whole metropolis filled to the brim with players, activities, hubs, and adventure locations, with more being unlocked as each level boss is defeated. Now while the game was flawed in that people were literally dying when their HP would run out, this universe was the ultimate getaway for communities and friend groups alike (something to take them away from the boring/cruel real world). In this world, you could level your avatar in any area you wanted to master, including sword-fighting, magic, cooking, smithing, bartering, leadership, and many more. In layman’s terms, take something like the immensely popular game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim where you can customize your character in whatever way you desire in a rich story-filled world and add multiplayer, full dive VR, and emulation of senses into the mix. With all of that combined, it would feel like you are a part of the world and that you can interact with others in unique ways based on your character and what you like to do, adding a new dimension of RP (Role-Play) into the picture. With all these aspects I’ve mentioned, it is hard not to get excited over the potential of such a world, and it is probably one of the core reasons why industries bother to innovate in increasingly immersive VR technologies and games.

Last time, I went over the BCI (Brain-Computer Interface) controllers and how it can make leaps and bounds in simulation and immersion but also jeopardize people’s privacy over brain activity (which no one should have access to but yourself). Here, I will discuss the ethics revolving around the virtual world itself. Stemming from the previous topic, using a BCI controller can heavily jeopardize a user’s authenticity and ability to communicate ideas without being influenced by external sources (namely the companies running the universe/manufacturing the BCI). Not only that, but usual sources of current propaganda (signs, newscasts, etc.) can be employed in the virtual world on a much grander scale. Furthermore, that propaganda, without certain restraints pushed onto the companies hosting these virtual metaverse communities, can focus on just a single company, effectively creating drones within the virtual world that are trained to always prefer the host company of the metaverse servers. The fact that the company who makes the VR multiplayer metaverse experience has 100% control of the world is a danger to those who want to buy into it and participate in the formation of virtual communities. Not only that, but since virtual reality world possibly isn’t going to be subject to real life laws and amendments, the companies can control the stream of information and effectively strip the rights of every member on their metaverse as they see fit (free speech). So, you might be asking, “How can we solve this huge problem?? Should we even bother to create such a metaverse with all of these real dangers presented to us??” Well, I’m glad you asked! One of the only ways I can see these sorts of metaverse worlds to work in today’s society is through various specific reforms and government intervention. Just the onset of controlling a virtual world with people living in it around the world potentially can be really powerful, and so the governments of the world should be directly involved in the process of releasing these metaverse environments and make it so that the companies have restricted control over the servers and doesn’t abuse its hold of the people participating in activities in the VR world. With that, I believe that it is a big step forward, but not enough to ensure everyone is 100% safe to spelunk in the wondrous metaverse.

One of the more controversial topics revolving around the Metaverse, Virtual Reality, and Full Dive VR (i.e., the type of systems you would see in Sword Art Online, like the one shown above) are the ethics behind the technology and the virtual environments people will be playing/living in. In this first post, I will be mainly focusing on the technology that would allow for a Metaverse to exist. Looking into the future, where the possibility of putting your body in a dream state to enter the virtual metaverse and do various activities there, the technology that would allow for that to happen would need to have access to the brain directly and manipulate it in a way that makes the virtual world seem like it is real life. For example, emulating the five main senses into the virtual world and even detecting electrical signals to allow for the brain to control one’s virtual avatar are some of the many inputs the “controller” will have to recognize and analyze. However, this by itself raises a lot of questions. This BCI (Brain-Computer Interface) controller, while detecting signals coming from the brain, will allow the company/companies who developed this technology to have a direct view into the inner workings of people’s psyche. While it may not be as accurate as to literally be able to read people’s minds and thoughts, the kind of technology to allow for a proper Metaverse would have advanced enough to be able to sense electrical signals and the mental states of the user’s brain, as a safety precaution. If this is the case, then the privacy of every participating user on this Metaverse would have a serious risk regarding their privacy, so to ensure this doesn’t happen, major restrictions and sanctions need to be pushed against the companies to protect the activity of the brain and allow only the most essential signals to be detected to play/live in the Metaverse properly. In the next post, I will dive deeper into the ethics of the virtual world of the Metaverse itself and how that can possibly play into the real world in various ways.