Virtual Reality!

The whole "use this VR to control us sounds like something from the film "existenz", where it may get to a point where it is hard to tell if you are in a game or VR. A chilling thought.

I think people are taking this way to lightly, and just looking at the fun that can come from this, im a hardcore gamer so belive me im happy to hear it but im also extremely scared.
A world in where they can re-create reality so that u dont know the difference between the two? The real implications of such a thing are as said befor revolutionary. Now give it another 50 years where a VR machine can re-create a total life experience for you, where it gives u the sustanace you need to keep yourself alive in reality, but you are living in a totaly different world. Now the real question that comes from this is what is reality?
If you had the choice of spending say 10g for this machine and to be able to wipe your memory clean of your life now and recreate this fantasy life in a VR machine where you wont know that your are in this machine. Or spend the 10g on putting a deposit on a crappy hosue and to struggle the rest of your life to make ends meat, which one would you choose?
Now i know there will be noble people saying they would rather struggle in reality than to live a fantasy in VR. But i promise that you would not, why struggle in reality? When you can have all the dreams in the world yours in VR, and the best thing is that in VR you wont even know your in VR. So for any movie buffs, imagine dark city/existenze/vanilla sky all mixed into one.

Then there is always the scariest thought of them all, evil governments, corporations and plain old sadistic people. Imagine the things these groups will be able to do with a machine like this. You could re-program someones life.

But hey on the light side of things, i would love to play KOTOR:2 in VR. Being able to do the jedi mind tricks on hot chicks.....

i wonder what would happen if a hacker were to gain control over the respective "console". Maybe they could prevent you from exitting, turn your brain to mush and god knows what else. To me it doesn't seem like it's worth the risk...

Well, wang, I don't know. The idea would be to simply build it and design it so it can't get to that level, and then to regulate it harder than imaginably possible. This is, after all, the mind. It could very well end up being illegal, but we'll have to see.

And who is to say the mind would accept it? Our brains our amazingly powerful, there's no reason why they wouldn't just say 'Screw you fake guys, I'm going home. It's taco night!'


Personally, I'd make myself God and go from there.

Ill just be waiting to laugh my bum off at the first person to seize and die from sensory overload because sending the signals directly to the sensory centers bypassing our natural dampening systems would be pretty dangerous. Just imagine it... she arches her back screaming "OH GOD" while you go into neurolytic shock (hehe).

Hello. Im Johnny.

Just Johnny.

Regulating video games? Come on anything to to do with computers or games can be hakced, and they same will go with this VR machine, any restrictions they put on it, or any thing that reducecs on what it can do will be hacked.

Originally posted by wang
Regulating video games? Come on anything to to do with computers or games can be hakced, and they same will go with this VR machine, any restrictions they put on it, or any thing that reducecs on what it can do will be hacked.

Not if you make it so that it can't physically harm you. Make it impossible to do any damage unless you physically tamper with the machine itself. Then don't let anyone tamper with it. (I'm thinking titanium, lead, no diamond casing. yeah...)

VR is cool in my eyes as long as it doesn't harm me. If I'm in VR World voluntarily for entertainment, education, or something and someone isn't trying to controll my mind, and shove me in a Matrix, then it's ok.
Just no brain hookup for me.

Troy

Originally posted by wang
Regulating video games? Come on anything to to do with computers or games can be hakced, and they same will go with this VR machine, any restrictions they put on it, or any thing that reducecs on what it can do will be hacked.

That'll take quite a hacker to know how to manipulate computers as well as brain signals.

I would also imagine that, after several trials, the creators will realize that they shouldn't even be able to send pain signals. The goal of a game is to have fun, and many probably wouldn't consider getting a bullet shot in their head to be fun !

I also think there will be organizations (for example, ESRB) that'll test these games to give everyone a heads up before purchasing/playing. For instance, there might be a warning label that says "Caution: Game may include physical pain" or something to that extent.