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Responsibility

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Information Overload. Social media networks and the widespread usage of mobile devices has made it easy to access a massive amount of information from different sources. And wearable AR devices like AR smart glasses made it even easier. The information overload leads to stress, indecisiveness and inaction states. All these points destroy the main purpose of AR, which is enabling quick action using the real-time environment.

Perception of Impairment. AR glasses can be considered as a key component of the technology. However, they can compromise users’ safety as well. AR glasses and lenses made through substandard design. Their manufacturing processes can potentially cause impairment in the perception of the wearer. It may lead to serious consequences depending on the application.

Distraction. AR can act as a distractor sometimes. Employees or students newly equipped with the technology might find AR to be more of a distraction and a hindrance, than the enabler it purports to be.

Privacy. Collection data is a part of AR functioning. This is caused by the principles of technology work. AR devices work by capturing and analyzing the real-world environment and then adding extra information over it. The data is gathered not only from the users of AR devices but also from the people the devices observe through cameras. This can definitely affect people’s privacy.

Security. Like any other technology, AR is vulnerable to security breaches. Threats and unauthorized access by hackers can lead to a denial of service or overlay wrong information. And it can bring catastrophic consequences in some cases. For example, if a driver is using an AR-powered navigation system.

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We have already covered several topics on how AR apps can inhale a new life into different areas and your business, especially. However, we don't want to be one of those companies who refuse to admit that their products might bring harm along with the pros. So let us say it right away: Augmented Reality danger exists.

Let us be a bit boring for a few minutes, as Ross Geller, while telling some curious facts to his friends. But please don't fall asleep... So, there was a long way for people working with atoms and their energy before it led to atomic bombs. We all know that such a sad result of great physicists' achievements was not their aim at all. Atomic energy was aimed to bring improvements in peaceful areas. And, it was really used in some useful ways. But then Mr. Oppenheimer became a father of the atomic bomb and remarked later: "Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

So, getting back to our times, technologies are aimed to bring improvement to all areas of our life. And, they really do so. But we can't deny that almost all cool devices and different tech stuff have an opposite side. So, admitting the downsides, we can avoid the destiny of Oppenheimer's great achievement and create really useful stuff.

Today, we would like to show you both sides of the AR technology.

AR technology dangers

In general, there are several main dangers AR technology can bring:

Information Overload. Social media networks and the widespread usage of mobile devices has made it easy to access a massive amount of information from different sources. And wearable AR devices like AR smart glasses made it even easier. The information overload leads to stress, indecisiveness and inaction states. All these points destroy the main purpose of AR, which is enabling quick action using the real-time environment.

Perception of Impairment. AR glasses can be considered as a key component of the technology. However, they can compromise users' safety as well. AR glasses and lenses made through substandard design. Their manufacturing processes can potentially cause impairment in the perception of the wearer. It may lead to serious consequences depending on the application.

Distraction. AR can act as a distractor sometimes. Employees or students newly equipped with the technology might find AR to be more of a distraction and a hindrance, than the enabler it purports to be.

Privacy. Collection data is a part of AR functioning. This is caused by the principles of technology work. AR devices work by capturing and analyzing the real-world environment and then adding extra information over it. The data is gathered not only from the users of AR devices but also from the people the devices observe through cameras. This can definitely affect people's privacy.

Security. Like any other technology, AR is vulnerable to security breaches. Threats and unauthorized access by hackers can lead to a denial of service or overlay wrong information. And it can bring catastrophic consequences in some cases. For example, if a driver is using an AR-powered navigation system.

The ways to reduce AR dangers

Of course, all these dangers can be regulated. Information overload can be controlled by regulating the amount of data provided through AR technologies. This is partially a task for business owners not to overwhelm users. However, users can restrict some apps usage if they feel devastated and overloaded once they interact with it.

Perception impairment can be prevented by ensuring the compliance of AR equipment to the highest quality and safety standards. And we can say that AR devices are improving all the time to bring a better experience.

Recently we posted about future predictions for AR in 2020, and one of the topics was connected to new AR glasses which can totally change the technology.

AR-induces distraction can be reduced by special training to ensure that a transition from non-AR to AR-enabled operations will be smooth. No need to make people work with all the functions of the new technology right away. The special training can help people to get used to all the AR-based operations one by one. This will help to avoid stress and accept the process of adaptation easily.

Working on keeping privacy while using AR devices is another challenge for the technology to be overcome in the future.

Security must be one of the main priorities for the developers and business owners. And, this is still one of the challenges developers must work on in the future.

However, there is one more thing that must be discussed. We need to talk about what danger can be brought by augmented reality apps for kids.

AR technologies and kids

Technologies affect children from an increasingly early age. Here are some statistics to understand the situation:

Source

While the benefits of AR kids' technology usage cannot be denied, we need to realize how excessive exposure can impact the development and health of the young generation.

So the overuse of mobile devices increase the risks of developing:

Signs of inattention, impulsivity and poor short-term memory, leading to behavioral and learning difficulties

Obesity (on the rise in young children) due to a lack of physical exercise

Issues with fine motor skills, and in turn handwriting skills, as a result of less exposure to traditional play activities such as blocks, play dough, arts and crafts, and dressing dolls

A hunched back, a condition called "postural kyphosis".

The risks are rather scary. But, should parents prohibit the usage of smartphones and tablets? Hot necessarily. We need to accept that reality with mobile devices is a part of our lives. But, children need to have a balance between the use of devices and social activities. So the answer is in the moderate usage of the devices. In addition, it's vital for young people to be active and participate in interactive plays. It supports their gross and fine motor, cognitive, social and communication development.

AR safety for kids

Additionally, AR kids harm can be based on some controversial aspects as they must be controlled by parents:

Apply safety features. AR apps and games can have restricted chats and privacy settings for filtering out abusive language and behavior. But not all of them have moderators in place.

Age ratings and reviews. Some content can show violent/sexual content or bring the wrong values to kids. Parents must read reviews and pay attention to age restrictions while choosing an app for their kids. They must be aware of what content the kids are engaged with.

Physical safety/health. Players can fall and hurt themselves. Some games can bring to crowded places, which can't be 100% safe for children.

So, parents can easily control kids. No need to prohibit the technology usage for your kids. Better to transform it into something really useful.

Kids' screen time statistics show the following:

Source

AR for books

There are lots of opportunities and benefits in AR for kids' education and useful entertainment.

We have partially covered this topic in some of our previous articles:
How AR in toy producing is changing the industry
Implementing AR in education

Additionally, we can say that AR apps can involve children in reading. This is very essential for their development. AR books are a merge of traditional text and digital content. Using a device with a special app, such a book can add playing video, creating models from the content, or allowing different interactions with the text.

Let us show you how AR books can improve a kid's involvement in a sooooo boring process of reading. For example, it's possible to create an app with a quest based on a book. Reading this book will help to complete the tasks and challenges of the game. This a combination of a game with education. And this is a 100% guarantee a kid will complete the book... at least to finish the game.

There is also another option to use a book for an AR application. Imagine a kid is reading a book about wizards. Using an AR app and special markers placed in the book, different magic scenes can become real. And what if we add some interaction with the heroes? What if a kid gets a task to defeat a princess from a villain? Well, definitely a kid will complete the reading till the end of the story.

This is all about entertainment. But AR books can help with education and make it more interactive. Do you remember your history or science lessons at school? We believe they were much boring. Imagine that your kid can see historic battles or persons "alive" using AR apps. Then the kid takes some quest or quizz, which requires knowing real facts to be completed. Need some models of the Universe? Or maybe want to see how the atom looks like? With AR apps you can reach these things easily. The interaction with education stuff via technology is a better way for comprehension and remembering for new generations.

Here are some examples of AR books.

Jack Hunter: The French Connection

Animal Kingdom Education Book

Color Alive Series - Augmented Reality Coloring Books

So, the best way to understand the impact of AR games and apps on a kid is to jump into fun alongside your child. Get immersed in the game with them. Understand the environment, the community, the feeling of the game, and the safety risks first hand.

l.sidorenko

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AR apps for kids: danger or a way for development? | Crysberry

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We have already covered several topics on how AR apps can inhale a new life into different areas and your business, especially. However, we don't want to be one of those companies who refuse to admit that their products might bring harm along with the pros.

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Social impact of both positive and negative

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Social impact of both positive and negative

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Virtual reality... To some, it's an over-hyped craze that might one day produce some cool video games.

To others, it's a phenomenon that will one day alter our everyday lives.

As far as its societal impact... will virtual reality be the next World Wide Web? The next mobile phone? Or some other technological advancement that revolutionizes our society?

Sure, it's hard to believe. But as the technology continues to improve, and as new applications are discovered, there is an argument to be made that virtual reality will change many facets of our lives.

In this article, we'll create some interesting scenarios that might change the way you feel about virtual reality. Some might seem far-fetched. Others might dip into the realm of possibility.

Either way, there are both positive and negative sides of virtual reality that could change the way we experience the world - both in physical reality and virtual reality.

The Future of Virtual Reality

The reality is, virtual reality is a concept that has been around for several decades. The 90s brought some practical uses of VR in the form of video games. But due to the prematurity of the technology, it never really took off - with exception to games you might find at an arcade.

If you are an avid advocate of virtual reality, there's a good chance you've already read Ernest Cline's book, "Ready Player One" (if not, it is a must).

If you haven't already read it, here's a backdrop of the novel's setting:

It's the year 2045 and society has broken down due to overpopulation, energy scarcity, and extreme unemployment. To escape their miserable lives, people have turned to the OASIS, an incredibly realistic virtual reality environment. The OASIS is more than just a video game. People have jobs in this virtual world, students attend school in virtual classrooms, and on and on.

While there's a lot more to the story, the underlying theme is compelling. And it begs a profound question:

Why spend time in the real world when you can enter a virtual world where you can be anyone and go anywhere?

How far virtual reality will go depends largely on how well it fulfills the five senses. Here's where VR currently stands in this area:

1. Sight: Obviously this one is covered. Sight is the pillar of VR.

2. Hearing: Also covered. Put on a high quality pair of headphones and you'll be sucked into the experience.

3. Touch: It's getting there with accessories that have impressive haptic feedback capabilities.

4. Smell: Not quite there, but it'll be coming. A company called VAQSO is developing a VR add-on device that syncs to scenes or action (i.e. smelling simulated gunsmoke after firing a virtual gun).

5. Taste: The verdict is still out, but there are ideas in the works.

So VR's far-reaching potential depends on a few things. Most important is the technology itself. If VR can master the five senses, it's hard to imagine a world without it.

Consumer adoption is another crucial factor. Companies like Samsung have helped immensely by shipping out hundreds of thousands of headsets as promotional items. You'll also find reasonably priced headsets on end-caps at major retailers.

Adoption goes hand-in-hand with application development. As more people start using VR there will be greater incentives for companies to design applications. Just think about smartphone apps. As the mobile phone market has grown exponentially, so have the Android and Apple app stores.

Note: Are you a tech buff? Looking for ways to improve your home? for the latest and greatest tech gadgets - along with apparel and other hip new products.

The Positives

First, the positive impact virtual reality could have on society...

The social aspect is the most glaring factor.

Now, saying virtual reality will help us become more "social" might seem counter-intuitive. Considering that sitting on your couch with a headset covering your face, in fact, might seem anti-social (certain aspects of this certainly would fall under the "negative societal impact" category).

However, think about your friends and family members who live on the other side of the country. If you live in California, you'd probably be lucky to see your relatives in New York more than once or twice per year.

With a realistic VR experience, you can spend time with distant loved ones at the touch of a button. Think about the first time you used FaceTime or some other video conferencing software. It's a lot different than just making a phone call. VR multiplies this more linear communication medium hundreds-fold.

You could have a weekly poker night with some friends from college (who live in 5 different states). You could "sit down" with your parents - who live 400 miles away - and reminisce about your childhood. Etc.

Then there are plenty of practical, non-recreational benefits:

Conduct virtual business meetings with teams across the world.

Get a better view of e-commerce products before making purchases.

Get a virtual tour of London before booking a plane ticket (of course, if VR is so realistic, why book the ticket at all?).

The more accurate that "avatars" become, the more realistic the experience will feel. In fact, you would think we'd move way beyond avatars, where digital photography can portray a near-100 percent likeliness to our actual appearance.

The Negatives

Now, onto the potential negative societal impact of a VR-driven future.

The most egregious con of virtual reality would be the propensity for escapism. Meaning, if someone is depressed and unhappy with your life, they might use VR as an escape by entering a different world where they don't have to be themselves.

Social media has given us a small dose of this. People hide behind their computers and treat people in ways that they wouldn't treat them if they were right in front of them.

Health is another concern. And not just the more obvious health concerns (vision degradation, seizures, etc.), but health problems that could develop over extended use.

If we become so obsessed with our fantasy worlds, where we are working, socializing, and rec-reating in virtual reality, what will happen to our bodies? Fourteen hours a day in a state of physical idleness can't be healthy.

Note: To be fair, if VR were to reach these heights, there would be remedies. In fact, there are already contraptions (similar to treadmills and other exercise equipment) that allow you to physically move in the VR world. But still, when would we get sunlight and fresh air?

So Many Questions...

You can see there are a number of potential positives and negatives to virtual reality.

And as noted, whether these pros and cons will ever fully be realized depends on technology, adoption, and development.

So with that we'll leave you with a few more questions to whet your appetite:

Why go to the mall to enhance your wardrobe when you can buy a nice pair of digital jeans or perfectly tailored dress or suit?

Why commute to a stadium to watch your professional sports team play when you could sit on your couch with a 360-degree virtual seat inside the stadium?

Why host a party in a cramped 600 square foot apartment when you could host a luxurious party in a 7,000 square foot virtual mansion?

Why save up for an exorbitantly-priced trip to Hawaii when you could take monthly virtual vacations all around the world - for free or for a nominal price?

Do you love all things tech? Check out the latest gadgets from Touch of Modern.

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Societal Impact of Virtual Reality: Positives & Negatives

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Virtual reality... To some, it's an over-hyped craze that might one day produce some cool video games. To others, it's a phenomenon that will one day alter our everyday lives. As far as its societal impact... will virtual reality be the next World Wide Web? The next mobile phone?

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This Should Be V.R.’s Moment. Why Is It Still So Niche?

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This Should Be V.R.’s Moment. Why Is It Still So Niche?

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"Virtual escapism is perfect for a pandemic, but V.R. still seems far from a mainstream technology."

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Virtual escapism is perfect for a pandemic, but V.R. still seems far from a mainstream technology.

An Oculus Go virtual reality headset, which starts at $149 for a 32-gigabyte version. Credit... Ben Quinton for The New York Times

I have wanted to love virtual reality for a really long time.

More than two decades ago, when I was a preteen, I saved up my allowance to buy the original Virtual Boy, an early V.R. gaming console made by Nintendo. The Virtual Boy was an infamous commercial flop, with laughably primitive 3-D graphics and a janky plastic headset that gave me splitting headaches. But I was transfixed by the idea of a technology that could transport me to another world, even if it was only to play Mario Tennis.

Since then, I've tested maybe a dozen V.R. headsets, ranging from cheap Google Cardboard models to ultra-high-end gaming rigs. And every time, I've found myself excited by the promise of futuristic V.R., and disappointed by the inevitable letdown of experiencing the actual limited systems.

Last month, when it became clear that we'd all be stuck inside our homes for weeks on end, I decided to give V.R. another try. After all, what better time to escape into virtual reality than a pandemic? I hoped it would give me a break from my daily doomsurfing routine. And if I was lucky, maybe I would encounter new ways to stay entertained and connected from the safety of my home.

The good news is that, in technical terms, today's V.R. systems are miles ahead of their predecessors. Many newer systems feature realistic graphics and motion capture, and there are some genuinely great games and entertainment apps out there. If you're a gamer, a movie buff or just a person suffering from cabin fever in quarantine, there are worse ways to spend a few hundred bucks than on an entry-level V.R. headset.

The bad news is that V.R. is still not what sci-fi movies taught us to hope for - a fully immersive experience that transports us to another dimension and gives us all kinds of virtual superpowers. Even the leading systems still lack some basic features and, outside of gaming, there isn't much you can do on a V.R. headset that you can't do more easily on another device.

I'm not giving up hope yet. But after several weeks of testing, I suspect that the future of lifelike digital interactions will not be found inside V.R. headsets and computerized goggles, but instead will be built on top of the less flashy technology we're already using.

Image

Nintendo's Virtual Boy. Credit... James Sheppard/Retro Gamer Magazine, via Getty Images

My first task was tracking down a virtual reality headset, which turned out to be surprisingly hard. Popular V.R. systems like the Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR have been sold out for months online, and when I looked, new models were selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars above their retail price. I was lucky enough to snag one of the last remaining Oculus Go units - the brand's cheaper, low-end model, which starts at $149 for a 32-gigabyte version - on Amazon. (Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, later sent me a Quest, the company's higher-end model, which starts at $399 and includes two controllers, but it didn't arrive in time for me to test.)

Unsurprisingly, the virus outbreak has been good for V.R. makers. IDC, a company that compiles data about the industry, said it expected sales of stand-alone V.R. headsets to grow 30 percent in 2020. Industry insiders told me that sales and use of V.R. apps had grown since lockdowns began, and that the growth would be higher if popular headsets were not back-ordered. Facebook said this week that it had made nearly $300 million in non-advertising revenue during the first quarter, a year-over-year increase of roughly 80 percent that the company said had been driven largely by increased Oculus sales.

"Weekend usage is up, but weekday usage is really way up," Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's head of virtual and augmented reality, said in an interview. "People are filling in what would have been normal parts of their weekday - working out, hanging out with friends - with V.R."

To get the most out of my virtual reality experience, I brought in an expert guide: Mike Cussell, who makes popular videos on YouTube under the handle "Virtual Reality Oasis."

His first piece of advice was to experiment with so-called social V.R. apps - programs that allow multiple users to congregate in a virtual space. The simulated presence these apps offer, he said, is part of what distinguishes them from other digital communication tools.

"You could sit with your best friend from the other side of the world in a V.R. cinema and watch a movie together," Mr. Cussell said. "You can't do that on a Zoom call."

To show me what he meant, Mr. Cussell - or rather his bald, round-faced cartoon avatar - met my avatar in the lobby of Bigscreen, a V.R. app that allows groups of people to watch movies together. He invited me into a virtual theater outfitted with stadium-style seating. We watched a few movie trailers, and while the graphics were impressive, the overall experience felt more gimmicky than transformative. Watching "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in 3-D for a few minutes is fun, but it's harder to imagine enjoying a 90-minute movie with a bulky, battery-heated headset strapped to your head. (Plus, while Bigscreen does have a virtual concession stand - and even a feature that allows you to fling animated popcorn at your avatar's face - it's hardly as good as eating actual movie snacks.)

Oculus, which Facebook acquired in 2014, has a number of built-in chat features that connect with your existing social graph. But few of my real-life friends and family members own V.R. headsets, which limited my options. Mr. Cussell said I shouldn't let that stop me from having a virtual social life.

"Part of the fun is making new friends," he said. "It feels much more personal when someone actually approaches you, is in your physical space, and engages with you."

I spent some time trying to make friends on some of the social apps Mr. Cussell recommended, like AltSpaceVR, a kind of town square where groups of people can gather to hold concerts, play games and talk to one another. But those apps didn't do much for me, either. The AltSpace "parties" I went to mostly seemed to consist of strangers parading their avatars around in circles, making small talk about the coronavirus and joking about V.R. social etiquette. (One host advised us that the rules of his V.R. house party were simple: Don't be a jerk, and don't hit on underage girls.)

Despite Mr. Cussell's advice, the best V.R. experiences I found were the solitary ones that didn't involve any social interaction at all. Like Nature Treks VR, a game that allows you to float around serene meadows and pristine beaches while a soothing soundscape plays. Or Real VR Fishing, an app that lets you scout for prize catches in a series of simulated lakes and rivers.

I also took advantage of the many available V.R. travel apps. One night, after I did a guided V.R. meditation and spent 20 minutes walking around a 3-D rendering of Zion National Park, I realized I felt more relaxed than I had in weeks.

Escapism is virtual reality's strong suit, and it's why major gaming studios are developing more big-budget games for platforms like Oculus and PlayStation VR. But sci-fi and industry hype has always promised us that the technology would replace more than just our consoles. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, has called V.R. "the next major computing and communication platform," and other V.R. leaders have predicted that we will eventually use it for everything from workplace collaboration to sex.

Part of the problem for virtual reality enthusiasts is that much of what a V.R. headset offers can be found in other places. Fortnite, for example, has become a venue for concerts and other large virtual gatherings. (A concert by the hip-hop artist Travis Scott last week drew more than 12 million viewers.) Animal Crossing, a whimsical Nintendo Switch game, has become a surprise quarantine hit. Millions of people are using Zoom and other video-chat apps to hold virtual game nights, cocktail parties and yoga classes on their laptops and phones, without the need for special hardware.

These experiences aren't fully immersive, in the same way that virtual reality is. But they may not need to be. After all, the breakout moment for augmented reality - V.R.'s chiller, more pragmatic cousin, which involves projecting digital objects onto physical spaces - wasn't fancy Magic Leap goggles or Hololens gadgets but a Snapchat filter that let you turn yourself into a dancing hot dog. We are creatures of habit, and it may be that people simply prefer virtual experiences that don't require them to strap an expensive computer to their forehead.

I told Mr. Cussell, my V.R. tour guide, that I was still unsure whether my preteen dream of a mass-market virtual reality experience, filled with lifelike experiences and plenty of my actual friends, would ever come to fruition. He conceded that stand-alone V.R. headsets might remain a niche product for nerds like us. But he said that if anything could push the technology into the mainstream for good, it would be a global pandemic that shut people out of the physical world, starved them of social interaction and made them long for a return to normalcy.

"Now, more than ever, people could really do with an escape from reality," he said.

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This Should Be V.R.'s Moment. Why Is It Still So Niche?

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Virtual escapism is perfect for a pandemic, but V.R. still seems far from a mainstream technology. I have wanted to love virtual reality for a really long time. More than two decades ago, when I was a preteen, I saved up my allowance to buy the original Virtual Boy, an early V.R.

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Industry review boards are needed to protect VR user privacy

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Industry review boards are needed to protect VR user privacy

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"VR... data misuse could cause people to lose control of their identity and how they choose to present themselves to employers, insurers and others."

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The movements you make playing VR and AR games create a huge amount of personal data Image: REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Director, Outlaw Center for Immersive Behavioral Science, Concordia University

Head of Immersive Simulation Program, National Human Genome Research Institute

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More on Virtual and Augmented Reality

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The hidden risk of virtual reality - and what to do about it

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A 20-minute virtual reality game can capture 20 million data points about the player - and yet the collection and use of this information is, as yet, unregulated. Last year, a group of privacy experts met to review the risks and propose solutions. Here's what they came up with

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9 ethical problems with VR we still have to solve

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9 ethical problems with VR we still have to solve

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"Rather than focusing on profitability or user adoption, VR developers should be spending more time navigating... all-too-important ethical dilemmas."

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Virtual reality (VR) has made some impressive progress in the past few years. Despite a false start a few years back, VR headset sales are improving, with more than a million units shipped in a single quarter for the first time at the end of 2017. Sony, HTC, and Oculus are seeing increased sales, and VR developers are moving beyond gamers to target a broader market.

So far, most VR engineers and developers have been focused on solving problems like how to make a more comfortable, portable headset, and how to decrease the costs of production so headsets are more affordable for the general population. But there are bigger, higher-level problems that still need to be solved in the world of VR - and how we solve them could have a major impact on the future of the industry.

Rather than focusing on profitability or user adoption, VR developers should be spending more time navigating these all-too-important ethical dilemmas. This isn't a finite list of the ethical questions of VR, but here are the nine issues I believe are most pressing and that we need to resolve as soon as possible.

1. User protection

Users may require at least some physical protection, depending on the nature of the headset. If deprived of real-time sensory feedback, users could end up walking into walls or fail to recognize key dangers in their immediate surroundings. There are already some suggested resolutions for this, including using a circular walking arc to simulate straight-line walking without ever walking past an intended boundary, but they still need time for development.

2. User isolation and social effects

Already, we've seen the rise of technology capable of forming physical addiction. Though rare, some individuals are so consumed by social media and/or video games that they isolate themselves from society to an unhealthy degree. When entire, immersive worlds are available to explore, who's job will it be to prevent that from happening?

3. Pornographic content

There's already some evidence that excessive exposure to pornography could influence harmful behavior toward women. If users engage with pornographic content in an even more realistic environment, with a first-person style of interaction, what effects could that have on violent crime? The problem becomes even more complicated when you introduce the possibility of simulated interactions with real-world people, or the possibility of virtual sexual acts that are illegal in the real world.

4. Virtual crimes

Speaking of crimes, how are we going to manage the execution of crimes in a virtual world? Today's video game culture is separated by the veil of screens and controllers; titles like Grand Theft Auto may allow a person's avatar to kill and steal, but using thumb gestures to control an onscreen character is much different than executing a stabbing motion or pulling the trigger yourself in a hyper-realistic environment.

5. Real-world applications

After spending too much time in a virtual environment, it may be difficult for users to return to the real world and behave the same way they did before the virtual experience. They may be desensitized to certain types of violence or interactions, which could damage their social relationships. They may also overestimate their physical abilities, attempting a jump they can't make or trying a skill they've only perfected in a VR environment.

6. In-game trauma

It may not be necessary to experience an event in physical reality to experience the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For games that require tough moral decisions, or experiences that simulate a harrowing ordeal, participants may be forced to deal with lasting psychological consequences. How are VR developers going to prevent this, or manage it when it occurs?

7. VR as torture

What if you could inflict trauma on someone in a virtual environment? Would that count as torture? The answer isn't black-and-white, but it's a question we need to explore - and one that's been raised by philosophers.

Military personnel may view VR as a kind of ethical alternative to torture, putting people through horrible experiences without ever inflicting any physical harm. You could make an easy case that this is immoral behavior, but who's responsible for controlling or stopping it?

8. Virtual travel

VR could help people explore the world, introducing them to new countries and locations they might otherwise never get to visit. But what about sites that severely restrict visitors? Is it ethical to allow someone to remotely visit a site that's considered holy? Or allow someone to peek around an ex's apartment? What kind of limits are we going to impose for virtual travel?

9. User privacy

As with most new technologies, we also need to think about user privacy. Users will be able to take more actions and interact with more types of content than ever before, engaging in behaviors they may avoid in the real world. Who is responsible for ensuring users' privacy, and how could this data be used? Should it be allowed to be given to advertisers, or remain in the individual's control.

So without any clear, objectively "correct" answers, how are VR engineers supposed to go about answering these questions?

I propose three simple strategies:

1. Consult: No matter how simple some of these questions might seem to an individual, VR developers aren't going to have the answers. Developers and investors need to work alongside psychologists and philosophers to find and support their conclusions.

2. Invest: For every dollar we spend on VR tech, we should be spending a dollar on research into the effects of the technology. New studies are necessary to learn how VR could shape our minds and behaviors.

3. Safeguard: If a VR developer doesn't understand the ramifications of a certain feature, they should take measures to protect users just in case; for example, they can downplay the realism of a traumatic scene, offer detailed warnings about the potential effects of a new feature, or somehow proactively detect aberrant user behavior.

Until we have a better understanding of the long-term effects of VR, we need VR developers to prioritize these three important steps.

Read next: Dungeons & Dragons co-creator's unpublished works to become video games

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9 ethical problems with VR we still have to solve

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Virtual reality (VR) has made some impressive progress in the past few years. Despite a false start a few years back, VR headset sales are improving, with more than a million units shipped in a single quarter for the first time at the end of 2017.