Daily Archives: December 19, 2021

THE FUTURE OF VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual Reality is one of the technologies with the highest projected potential for growth. According to the latest forecasts from IDC Research (2018), investment in VR and AR will multiply 21-fold over the next four years, reaching 15.5 billion euros by 2022. In addition, both technologies will be key to companies' digital transformation plans and their spending in this area will exceed that of the consumer sector by 2019. It is, therefore expected that by 2020 over half of the larger European companies will have a VR and RA strategy.

Nowadays, the market is demanding applications that go beyond leisure, tourism or marketing and are more affordable for users. Virtual interfaces also need to be improved to avoid defects such as clipping, which makes certain solid objects appear as though they can be passed through. Or to minimise the effects that VR produces in people, among them motion sickness, which consists of a dizziness induced by the mismatch between the movement of our body and what is being seen in the virtual world.

The big technology companies are already working to develop headsets that do not need cables and that allow images to be seen in HD. They are developing Virtual Reality headsets in 8K and with much more powerful processors. There is even talk that in the next few years they could integrate Artificial Intelligence. The latest 5G standard can also provide very interesting scenarios for the evolution of VR. This standard will allow more devices and large user communities to be connected. In addition, its almost imperceptible latency will make it possible for consumers to receive images in real time, almost as if they were seeing them with their own eyes.

All this means that Virtual Reality is no longer science fiction. It is integrated into our present and, in the coming years, it will lead to advances that will shape the future.

Digital skills

What will the new technological era be like?

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Virtual Reality, the technology of the future - Iberdrola

Book series by Mryon W. Krueger

Artificial reality is a book series by Myron W. Krueger about interactive immersive environments (or virtual realities), based on video recognition techniques, that put a user in full, unencumbered contact with the digital world. He started this work in the late 1960s and is considered to be a key figure in the early innovation of virtual reality. For 16 years Krueger was creating a computer system that connected the actions of a user to the real-time response of visual and auditory displays.[1] Artificial Reality was published in 1983 and updated in Artificial Reality II in 1991 (both published by Addison-Wesley). Artificial Reality II was to explore the concept of 'Videoplace', which is when a users body is implemented into a computer created world full of color, sound, and visuals.[2] Whilst the first iteration of the series Artificial Reality has laid the ground work for different branches of computer-generated worlds like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Visualization is key for all artificial realities to efficiently use data; resulting in being able to utilize human sensory systems that create these artificial realities.[3]

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Artificial Reality - Wikipedia

Summary

Artistic acumen and knowledge of computer programming languages are essential in VR

VR is of great use in media, fashion, sports, automobile, and urban construction and planning

Virtual Reality (VR) is all about making you intensely feel alternate forms of reality through a simulated environment. Its being widely used in combat training, pilot training and educational purposes.

We caught up with Prof Samir Mukherjee, who is a leading expert in this field and is also responsible for the Department of Emerging Technology at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), West Bengal, to discuss the scope in VR and its massive potential.

Edugraph: What is VR and how does it capture imagination?

Samir Mukherjee: Its the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user inside an experience it makes them immersed and enable them to interact with 3D worlds. By simulating vision, hearing, touch and smell, the computer gets transformed into a gatekeeper to this artificial world. The only limits to near-real VR experiences are a limited availability of content, cheap computing power, and our own imagination.

What exactly is the technology employed by VR?

SM: VR employs a combination of existing technologies like multimedia, 360 photography and 3D graphics. Though VR is often confused for one of these techniques, its actually a complex and measured arrangement of all these methods and then some.

Whats the difference between VR and Augmented Reality (AR)?

SM: AR simulates artificial objects in the real environment, while VR creates an artificial environment to inhabit. In AR, the computer uses sensors and algorithms to determine the cameras position and orientation. AR technology then renders the 3D graphics as they would appear from the viewpoint of the camera, superimposing the computer-generated images over the users view of the real world.

In VR, the computer uses similar sensors and algorithms. However, rather than locating a real camera within a physical environment, the position of the users eyes here is located within the simulated environment. If the users head turns, the graphics change accordingly. And thats why VR technology creates a convincing interactive world for the user.

How does VR differ from other visual media?

SM: VR is recognised by the head-mounted display (HMD). The display technology used here is the primary difference between VR and all other traditional visual media. For instance, using the CAVE automatic virtual environments, the content can be projected onto screens that encompass entire rooms, which makes it an incredible pedagogical and research tool. However, commercial and everyday use of VR tech has a long way to go.

Can you tell us something about the importance of audio in VR?

SM: What we understand and process is influenced or caused by a combined action of our sensory systems. For VR to be adequately convincing, both audio and visual aspects are required. Our understanding of space and balance stems from a combined use of our eyes and ears. Therefore, environmental sounds and spatial attributes must be accurately reproduced for VR to be genuinely immersive and spatial.

What kind of academic background does one need to study VR?

SM: No specific academic background is needed. But you need an artistic acumen and storytelling capability to become successful in this field. CAD, photography, videography and animation are also needed to nurture a VR project. To work independently, you need to be well-versed in different programming languages like C++, C#, Unreal and Unity.

VR is mostly associated with sci-fi movies. Other than that, what are the emerging areas where virtual reality techniques are being applied?

SM: VR has immense potential in our real, non-entertainment world and has excellent pedagogical applications especially in STEM, where labs can be easily reproduced. VR is useful for historical and archaeological restoration, cultural and heritage preservation. For instance, we created a VR walkthrough of Bari Kothi in Murshidabad. VR can also be used for military and aviation training.

Other than these, VR has a lot of scope in multiple branches of medicine, especially psychotherapy for pain and PTSD, paediatrics and surgery. With its capacity for realistic visualisations, VR is of great use in media, fashion, sports, automobile, and urban construction and planning. It is also used extensively for telecommunications, meetings and conferences.

What is the career scope of VR in India and abroad?

SM: There is plenty of opportunities in VR projects, specifically in the US and Europe. However, the education sector of our country is reluctant to adopt this technology and so we are also missing out on a world of possibilities. However, some universities like MAKAUT are warming up to this whole universe of opportunities and experiences.

VR is expected to multiply manifold in the next two years, according to several projections, primarily because technologies are crucial to all digital transformation plans. VR is on its way to become a part of our everyday lives as cell phones.

- Samir Mukherjee

Can you please tell us something about your areas of interest in this field?

SM: Outside India, VR is already as commonplace in the educational curriculum as mathematics or history. There is incredible research scope in this field. As a lifelong educator, my interest too is along these lines researching this new technology and its applications as well as educating people, especially younger generations, in and about VR. In fact, I have been personally involved in developing a VR lab for engineering students in Kolkata.

I am already helping out young entrepreneurs, startups and students to grow in this field. I am also acting as chief mentor in VR AR Academia, Salt Lake, Kolkata, which is involved in different types of projects in India and abroad.

What MAKAUT is doing to trigger interest in the area of VR? What are some of the research projects on VR that you are running at MAKAUT?

SM: MAKAUT is probably the first university in the eastern region to work with VR. We are fortunate to have a very dynamic vice-chancellor. One interesting research project we are working on at MAKAUT is essentially the transformation of the traditional teaching-learning exercise into an experiential one within the virtual space, which will be very beneficial for students in future.

What do you think is the future of VR?

SM: VR has the highest projected potential for growth. AR/VR is expected to multiply manifold in the next two years, according to several projections, primarily because technologies are crucial to all digital transformation plans. It is expected that the expenditure in emerging tech will easily exceed the consumer sector. VR is on its way to become a part of our everyday lives as cell phones.

Tech Giants are already working to improve this emerging area and make it seamless. In fact, there is an actual possibility of the integration of VR and AI. The pandemic has accelerated our need to connect easily and effectively over large distances. So, with better and more powerful processors, improved infrastructure and easier accessibility, well experience the true power of VR.

Last updated on 19 Dec 2021

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Virtual Reality is the next big thing: VR expert Samir Mukherjee - Telegraph India

The human brain is one of lifes greatest mysteries. Neuroscientists have labored for years to decode how it processes complex emotions: Where exactly do the sparks fire? And for how long?

Researchers made limited headway, but often struggled to replicate real, visceral human emotions under controlled laboratory conditions, which were necessary to standardize a number of variables. But then, they ventured into the world of virtual realityand that has completely changed the game.

Thats according to a team from theMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. It conducted a study to monitor neural activity when humans are emotionally charged, and trialed a cutting-edge technique to get there: using the immersive power of virtual reality. Participants were given VR glasses that transported them into the cars of a roller coaster ride, where they then embarked on an exhilarating journey of highs and lowsfirst, a steady roll through a picturesque mountain landscape; then, a desperate dash through the flames of a raging fire; and finallyafter a tense moment of teetering on the edgea steep plunge into the depths of the abyss.

The whole experience evoked much more natural emotions, the team says, than classical methods, which typically involve researchers showing study participants static photographs of emotional scenes, such as a wounded puppy or a spooky graveyard at night. The situation of being shown a photo, the researchers say, is far removed from emotion-inducing experiences we would normally have. Thats because in real life, emotions are continuously being conjured through a combination of past memories and various environmental factors that we interact with in the present. Put simply, to understand how the brain works on a day-to-day basis, its critical to observe brain activity in situations that feel as real as possible, not like manufactured case studies.

Using data from the VR participants, the team was able to confirm patterns of rhythmic brain waves linked to emotional excitement, which are referred to as alpha oscillations (the lower the strength of the oscillations, the higher the degree of excitement). They were also able to predict the strength of those emotions by identifying which cranial lobes and regions were most involved. These findings could have myriad applications in the future, the team says, noting that VR glasses are already being employed in psychological therapy. If, for example, doctors could track neurophysiological activity and correlate it to emotional states in real time, then they could collect data on patients emotional response to any given treatment without interrupting the moment by asking the patient to self-report.

The study was published in the scientific journal eLife in October.

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A new study suggests VR could aid research on the brain - Fast Company

Before there were online possibilities for how students went to class, we just went to class. For many students, thats simply not the case anymore, especially not during the pandemic.

Given the ubiquity of online learning, this question from listener Veronica Vera comes as no surprise: When we talk about students who are taking classes in school (not in a virtual environment), how do we refer to those classes? In other words, what would be the opposite of virtual classes?

The phrase were seeing the most often is in-person classes, and it actually predates the pandemic. As soon as we started to have online education, we needed a way to talk about non-online education.

Linguists call this a retronym, or a word thats formed to create a new distinction when a new thing comes along. Other examples of retronyms include cloth diaper, analog watch, and landline phone.

You may have noticed how Veronica referred to virtual classes where some of us wouldve said online classes. When it comes to talking about things that exist or occur on computers or the internet, virtual and online have come to be used fairly synonymously.

However, there are people who feel that a distinction between virtual and online should be maintained. Thats because virtual also means to be very close to being something without actually being something.

People in favor of maintaining a distinction would argue that a meeting is still a meeting, whether it occurs in person or online, and that virtual meeting is a misnomer.

As we often talk about on Thats What They Say though, words change meaning over time, and virtual and online are now used synonymously when we talk about things like meetings or education or teaching.

This usage isnt surprising, given how virtual has been used in computing for decades to mean not physically existing but made to appear to exist through software, as in virtual reality.

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TWTS: The actual reality of "virtual" vs. "online" - Michigan Radio

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is off to a rough start with its virtual reality ambition. A week since its platform Horizon World was launched, users are already reporting cases of harassment and sexual assault.

Not only was I groped last night, but there were other people there who supported this behavior which made me feel isolated in the Plaza, the user wrote in Facebooks official Horizon group, as quoted byThe Verge.

The user was reportedly groped by a stranger in the virtual landscape. In another instance, writer Parmy Olson, who tried out the VR experience, spoke of being surrounded by a group of male avatars who started taking pictures of her. It made her feel like a specimen. As of now, the metaverse realm has a tool called Safe Zone; it is a protective bubble built as a safety feature that can purportedly protect users when they feel threatened. Once the shields of Safe Zone go up, no one can touch, talk, or interact with the user in any way.

On reviewing the groping incident, Vivek Sharma, Metas vice president of Horizon, said the user didnt utilize the safety feature and should have just switched on the Safe Zone. Safety, once again, is framed as the responsibility of the user online as it is offline.

It begs the question: how can Meta, or Horizon Worlds, foster a culture where users arent groped or harassed? Because adjustment to its tools cannot be a sustainable solution. There is no body thats plainly responsible for the rights and safety of those who participate anywhere online, let alone in virtual worlds, as writer Tanya Basu noted in MIT Technology Review.

Harassment and abuse is by no means a novelty of the Metaverse it has always existed as a byproduct of virtual reality platforms.

Perhaps the biggest hiccup to taking tangible action is the notion that virtual harassment is a digital construct and thus may not impact reality. In 2016, a gamer described being groped on QuiVR, a similar virtual reality platform as follows: His floating hand approached my body, and he started to virtually rub my chest. Stop! I cried This goaded him on, and even when I turned away from him, he chased me around, making grabbing and pinching motions near my chest. Emboldened, he even shoved his hand toward my virtual crotch and began rubbing. To this, viewers on the message board debated whether or not she was actually groped, considering her physical body wasnt touched.

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Why the Origin and Impact of the Metaverse Is Worrying

But VR sexual harassment is sexual harassment in all dimensions; it has real and detrimental effects on the humans behind the avatars. I think people should keep in mind that sexual harassment has never had to be a physical thing, Jesse Fox, an associate professor at Ohio State University,toldMIT Technology Review. It can be verbal, and yes, it can be a virtual experience as well.

In a 2016 article, Fox also noted, If you highly identify with your avatar and are portraying yourself in an authentic manner, youre going to feel violated. It wouldnt be different if someone sent you a harassing email to your work email or harassed you in a chat room.

The 360-degree immersion in platforms like Horizon Worlds and others makes the toxic behavior feel viscerally real. Sexual harassment is no joke on the regular internet, but being in VR adds another layer that makes the event more intense, the user who was groped in Horizon Worlds also wrote. Concurring with this, Katherine Cross, who researches online harassment at the University of Washington,noted that at the end of the day, the nature of virtual-reality spaces is such that it is designed to trick the user into thinking they are physically in a certain space, that their every bodily action is occurring in a 3D environment.

Its part of the reason why emotional reactions can be stronger in that space, and why VR triggers the same internal nervous system and psychological responses. Moreover, studies have proven that the psychological response the body experiences in a VR environment is the same as the one experienced in a real environment.This may also be because virtual reality groping or harassment destroys the sense of trust the user placed in the virtual world adding another layer of despair. The consensus is at a cognitive level, there islittle or no differencebetween the real and virtual world, a blog noted.

The gray area here is whose responsibility is to keep digital avatars safe in virtual reality. Creators like Meta will conveniently argue that it has inbuilt tools that users could utilize to protect themselves. Generally speaking, when companies address online abuse, their solution is to outsource it to the user and say, Here, we give you the power to take care of yourselves,' Cross added. But that still feels like users get the short end of the stick.

For one, UI tweaks may not necessarily solve the underlying issue of harassment (Facebook in the past has proved ineffective in actually protecting users on its multiple platforms). Secondly, that users dont know of features and find themselves in these positions is a structural problem at its core.

This feels like a problem that will keep unraveling as the metaverse becomes more sophisticated. For now, instead of sticking to the you should have just been more careful response, perhaps Meta creators can place more deterrents and penalize aggressors on the platform. If creators are asking users to suspend their rational and disbelief and enter another realm, perhaps they must shoulder a great responsibility to provide security.

It may also be grimacing to acknowledge the limits of existing sexual harassment laws which may not be equipped to deal with the metaverse as a reality. Legally speaking, sexual assault or harassment in virtual reality is hard to find justice. In a virtual environment, it can be argued that assault cannot occur as there is prior knowledge that physical contact that can cause hurt is not possible, the Law Blog noted, arguing under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, requires the occurrence of either assault or actual criminal force. The current definitions thus cannot be utilized to prosecute a virtual reality offense; in other words, theres no formal legal recourse.

Just like cryptocurrency currently battles regulation, the metaverse opens a whole other can of worms in terms of potentially facilitating things that are outlawed in real life. For now, this then leaves the power to arbitrate these interactions solely on the corporations.

In the end, the Horizon Worlds seems like a lovely place to hang out. But if the architecture of this new world replicates the unsafety of the real world it leaves the users vulnerable on two frontiers.

Excerpt from:

Sexual Assault Is Already Happening in Meta's Virtual Reality World - The Swaddle

Bill Gates thinks youll eventually take a lot of your business meetings in virtual reality (VR).

In hisYear in Review postingon his GatesNotes website, Gates suggested that the quality of VR will accelerate in the near-term. Within the next two or three years, I predict most virtual meetings will move from 2D camera image gridswhich I call theHollywood Squaresmodel, although I know that probably dates meto the metaverse, a 3D space with digital avatars, he wrote. Both Facebook and Microsoft recently unveiled their visions for this, which gave most people their first view of what it will look like.

According to Gates, a number of companies are working on these 3D avatars, as well as the technology that will make VR truly immersive. One of the biggest improvements over what we use now is the use of spatial audio, where speech sounds like its actually coming from the direction of the person talking, he added in the posting. You dont realize how unusual it is to have meeting audio only coming from your computers speaker until you try something else. Theres still some work to do, but were approaching a threshold where the technology begins to truly replicate the experience of being together in the office.

Facebook recently claimed it would spend around $10 billion on Facebook Reality Labs, its research division for augmented reality (AR) and VR. Meanwhile, Microsoft is pouring considerable resources into the HoloLens, its AR headset currently targeted at the enterprise,as well as VR. Other major tech companies are also working on some combination of AR and VR technologies, including Apple with its much-rumored AR headset.

Can all of these companies actually turn VR into a mainstream thing? Gates might think so, but it will hinge on a number of factors, including cheap (and powerful) headsets and a sizable portfolio of good VR apps. According to Emsi Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes job postings from across the country, the current market for VR-related tech jobs is small (with roughly 8,000 job postings over the past year) but set to grow a solid 31.7 percent over the next two years. Thats a good sign that companies everywhere are beginning to explore the potential of the technology.

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Bill Gates Thinks Your Meetings Will Take Place in Virtual Reality (VR) - Dice Insights

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Australia- and New York-based, Smileyscope Holding Inc (Smileyscope) is a global pioneer in virtual reality (VR) therapeutics. The company merges evidence-based medicine with state-of-the-art technology, creating ground-breaking digital treatments that help patients manage pain, anxiety, and mental health. Smileyscope welcomes the internationally renowned mindfulness thought leader Craig Hassed OAM onto its platform enabling users to enjoy the immersive power of meditation. Prof. Hassed has authored over 100 scientific papers on the clinical benefits of mindfulness meditation and awarded the Order of Australian Medal for his work on the subject.

Smileyscope CEO Evelyn Chan, MD, remarked during the announcement of Prof. Hasseds addition to the development team: Its amazing how therapeutic VR can create such systems-wide positive impacts. Translating evidence-based medicine into VR has huge potential to improve peoples health and livelihoods. We are delighted to add Prof. Hasseds work to our digital therapeutics platform.

Eight in ten Americans experience stress in their daily lives and find it challenging to calm their minds and bodies.1 This puts them at higher risk of conditions like anxiety, depression, and burnout, as well as physical diseases like stroke and heart disease. Research shows that mindfulness can help a wide range of mental and physical conditions.1

Smileyscopes VR platform helps users rapidly achieve a peaceful state of mental focus, even in stressful environments such as hospitals and clinics. It is so useful to find some inner balance, peace and stability, especially when going through challenging and uncertain times. Meditation can help us to find that within ourselves, said Prof. Hassed. Smileyscope offers a great range of simple and accessible meditation practices.

Patients and care providers across four continents welcome the addition of mindfulness meditation to the growing catalogue of evidence-based medicine therapies offered by Smileyscope. Prof. Hasseds contributions join tested music therapies from the Hush Foundation, Smileyscopes proprietary digital therapeutics, MRI anxiety assessments, patient education offerings, and more. Smileyscopes multi-award winning digital therapeutic was clinically tested in the worlds largest trials in procedural virtual reality and is suitable for users aged 4 years and older.2

1. American Psychological Association. Stress In America: 2020. Available at: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report-october. Accessed December 14, 2021.

2. Chan E, et al. Virtual reality for pediatric needle procedural pain: two randomized clinical trials. J Pediatr. 2019;209:160-167.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.02.034.

About Smileyscope

Smileyscope is a leader in digital therapeutics focused on managing pain and anxiety. The company's virtual reality (VR) proprietary technology, known as Procedural Choreography, replaces negative real-world stimuli with positive VR stimuli resulting in significant reduction in pain and anxiety. The company has multiple clinical trials underway and is rapidly expanding its product offerings into additional patient segments.

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Smileyscope Takes its Virtual Reality Digital Therapeutics Platform to the Next Level With the Power of Mindfulness - Business Wire

Marc Saltzman| Special to USA TODAY

The best gaming gifts of 2021

Looking for what to buy the gamer in your life? Tech columnist Marc Saltzman offers up his top picks for kids, teens and adults.

Marc Saltzman, Special to USA TODAY

Whether youve been a fan of virtual reality (VR) since the first headset debuted many moons ago or 2021's just been one of those years you want to escape from, there are many stellar 2021 titles to indulge in over the holiday break.

As you likely know, VR games are super-immersive as they digitally transport you to another time and place. VR fills up your entire field of view with a 360-degree virtual world, and when coupled with head-tracking, it really tricks your brain into believing youre somewhere else.

Add in spatialized audio and the ability to touch content with your hands or a controller, and its incredibly engaging.

Compare this, if you will, to gaming on a screen in front of you, like a television or computer monitor, where you can still see the four edges of the display, which breaks that suspension of disbelief. (Not to mention other reminders of real life, like siblings bickering or catching the dog out of the corner of your eye, getting into something it shouldnt!)

Now, don't go and bethat person who dons a VR headset on a plane. But assuming youre one of many people enjoying a staycation over the holidays this year, the following five titles are some of the years best.

Planning a holiday staycation this year? Tech can help entertain the family

$39.99; for Oculus Quest; rated Mature

Winner of Best VR/AR (augmented reality) Game of the Year at The Game Awards, Capcoms creepy Resident Evil 4 challenges you to step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the U.S. president from the clutches of a bizarre cult.

As you might expect, not everything goes as planned as you navigate around a rural European village, come face to face with terrifying enemies, and unravel a terrifying mystery in the process.

Next year will see a free update, dubbed The Mercenaries, that pits you against a never-ending horde of Ganados (villagers infected with the Plagas parasite) to earn as many points as possible before evacuated.

Sniper Elite VR ($29.99 for Oculus Quest/Rift) is another worthy action VR game for those age 17 and older.

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$29.99; for Quest, Rift and PSVR; rated Teen

Part survival game, part mystical journey, 17 Bits Song in the Smoke is a single-player adventure that drops you into a prehistoric world inhabited by strange beasts.

Your goal is to stay alive by gathering and using items found in the various worlds eight of them, to be exact, including forests, snowy mountains, and deep valleys to make weapons, clothing, tools, fire, shelter, and brew medicinal potions.

Along with foraging and crafting, youll need to hunt to stay alive, and use a bow and club to fend off enemies.

While the graphics are far from photorealistic, Song in the Smoke is captivating as much as it is challenging.

The top video games of 2021: Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, NHL 22, Super Mario 3D World

$39.99; for Oculus Rift; rated Teen

If space adventures are more your pace, Ready at Dawn Studios Lone Echo 2 is a gravity-defying sci-fi epic that reintroduces us to an android named Jack, repaired and reawakened by his friend, Captain Olivia Liv Rhodes, both of whom are stationed on an abandoned space station.

As with its 2017 predecessor, youll tackle various puzzles and challenges to unravel mysteries in the far future, all wrapped in breathtaking imagery and an emotional story. So long as you can stomach the weightlessness zero-G elements, youll no doubt enjoy playing this 10+ hour single-player game.

It's truly gorgeous, and features well-produced sound, too.

While you can play this game on Oculus Quest 2 by connecting it to your Windows PC, Lone Echo 2 is considered a swan song for the now-discontinued Oculus Rift platform.

Also check out Echo VR, a free-to-play game for Oculus devices.

$24.99; Oculus Quest/Rift, PSVR, and PC VR; rated Teen

Puzzle fans should download Schell Games I Expect You To Die 2, a secret agent sequel that has you go deep undercover to thwart a diabolical plan for world domination.

Yes, like in the original game, Dr. Zor, the head of Zoraxis Industries, is at it again. And so, youre assigned to take on six James Bond-like spy missions, beginning with protecting the U.K.s prime minister.

Sci-fi fans may notice the character John Juniper is voiced by actor/writer Wil Wheaton.

Youll solve puzzles, use powers (like telekinesis) and wear disguises to stay alive long enough to complete this fun (and funny) 1960s-style single-playeradventure.

Check out the games trailer.

$29.99; for Oculus Quest; rated Everyone

Suffer from acrophobia? The Climb 2 isnt for you.

As the name of this sequel suggests, your goal is to scale skyscrapers, ascend dangerous peaks and find hidden shortcuts as you climb your way up and up, and up.

While feeling the rush of realistic heights, you can glimpse over your shoulder to take in the gorgeous scenery, continue your climb to the top, and compete against others in multiplayer modes (which are asynchronous opposed to in real-time).

You can also earn gear like gloves and watchesand unlock a range of achievements.

Best known for its Crysis games, Crytek has crafted a thrilling arcade-like climbing sim that takes advantage of VR technology.

Follow Marc on Twitter for his Tech Tip of the Day posts: @marc_saltzman. Or subscribe to his weekly Tech It Out podcast at marcsaltzman.com/podcasts.

Follow Marc on Twitter for his Tech Tip of the Day posts: @marc_saltzman. Email him or subscribe to his Tech It Out podcast at https://marcsaltzman.com/podcasts.The views and opinions expressed in this column are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

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5 must-play 2021 VR games to play over the holidays: Resident Evil 4, The Climb 2 - USA TODAY

The imminent arrival of the long-awaited fourth Matrix movie will surely spur another round of thinking about a question that philosophers have been kicking around at least since Platos time: How do we know that our world is real? Nowadays, of course, were far more likely to consider that a simulated reality would be rendered in bytes rather than shadows on a cave wall. Furthermore, given both the technical progress being made and the business push behind it, far more likely than our predecessors to actually embrace the prospect of life in a virtual world. The philosophical implications of such worlds as well as the possibility we might already be existing within one are the subject of the philosopher David J. Chalmerss new book Reality+, which will be published in January. In it, Chalmers, who is a professor of philosophy and neural science at New York University, as well as co-director of the schools Center for Mind, Brain and Consciousness, argues, among other things, that our thinking about our future virtual lives neednt be rooted in visions of dystopia. The possibilities for virtual reality, says Chalmers, who is 55, are as broad as the possibilities for physical reality. We know physical reality can be amazing and it can be terrible, and I fully expect the same range for virtual reality.

You argue in your book that virtual realities have the potential to be just as rich and valid a place for people to exist in as real ones. But whats something that a virtual world might be missing that, in your thinking, could inhibit the pursuit of a meaningful life? I think what moves a lot of people is the idea that somehow if you were in a virtual world, it would all be fake, it would be an illusion. Maybe the virtual worlds are like video games: Nothing that happens there really matters; its just an escape from the issues in the real world. Whereas I think what happens in virtual worlds can, in principle, be very significant. You can build a meaningful life in a virtual world. We can get into deep social and political discussions and decisions about the shape of society in a virtual world. Rather than living in a video game, my analogy would be more like were moving to a new, uninhabited country and setting up a society. The issues will be somewhat different from the issues where we came from, but I wouldnt consider that escapism. Also, Im not saying abandon physical reality completely and go live in a virtual world. I think of the virtual world as a supplement to physical reality rather than a replacement, at least in any remotely short term.

What makes your life meaningful? And are there any ways in which a virtual existence would get in the way of those things? Theres a lot of factors in a meaningful life. Theres having significant goals and reaching them. Theres having positive relationships with other people. Theres having positive subjective experiences. Theres coming to understand things. But most of these basic kinds of things that matter, you ought to be able to get in a virtual world. This is not to say that virtual worlds are on a par with physical worlds in every respect. For example, someone might value brute, unencumbered nature. A virtual world wont give you that. I dont want to say theres no loss in moving to a virtual world. At least for the next century or so I suspect the kind of embodiment we get from virtual worlds will be a pale shadow of what we get from physical reality. But looking to a long-term future, its easy to envisage a world where a lot of the short-term obstacles are overcome.

Is there something sort of nihilistic about arguing for the positive possibilities of a virtual world? To me it takes some of the air out of trying to fix problems in this world. I want to resist the idea that its either/or. That if were thinking about virtual reality, we cant think about physical reality. We can think about climate change and social justice and all these things at once. And virtual-reality technology is coming. We need to be thinking about it. Its clear to me that virtual worlds have a lot to offer. This doesnt make them a panacea. I dont expect this to solve the problems of social justice overnight by giving everybody a virtual mansion at the beach. Many of the sources of inequality are still going to remain.

David Chalmers in 1996. UC Santa Cruz Review, via David Chalmers

I want to move on to the idea that we cant know that were not living in a perfect simulation. Lets say you were at a bar making conversation with a stranger about your book. How would you present that idea? I would first point to existing simulation technology and virtual-reality technology. VR technology is still primitive, but you can put on one of these headsets and be in an immersive virtual world that is in some ways reminiscent of a physical reality. Give it another 50 or 100 years and then maybe were going to have simulations of the world that are basically indistinguishable from physical reality. Then you just raise the question: How do you know thats not happening to you already?

And it turns out that the person at the bar is into Descartes: I have thoughts. I have an inner world. How could that be the product of a simulation? Its not part of my thesis that we are definitely in a simulation. I think its reasonable to remain agnostic. Nevertheless, in recent years, weve been getting increasing reason to take this hypothesis seriously simply from the fact that we now know that this technology is possible. For Descartes, this was a very abstract possibility: Maybe an evil demon is fooling me in this way. But now were actually building the technology that can do this. So maybe its possible that in the history of the universe there are going to be thousands, millions, billions of such simulations, and that makes whether we might be in one of them a very live question.

I understand the logical arguments for why we might be living in a simulation. Im less clear on the consequences. What might accepting the simulation hypothesis mean for how I go about my life? First of all, if its a perfect simulation, maybe well never know thats what it is. But if we did come to discover that were in a simulation? It depends on what kind of simulation were in. If we suddenly were to start communicating with our simulators, who tell us theyre only going to upload us for eternal life if we worship them in appropriate ways, then maybe our lives would be transformed in the same kind of ways as it would be transformed by discovering that theres a God. But if we come to discover that its just a simulation churning away in the background then, yeah, maybe our initial reaction would be shock, and thered be a lot of hand-wringing, but I think Id say, Well, life goes on. Some people say that if we were to discover this, it would mean that nothing is real and this is all a delusion. I want to resist that idea. I think even if we are in a simulation, were still living in a real world and we can still have a meaningful life.

Could you sketch out what you see as the necessary characteristics of a real world? In the book, I say, Here are five different things you might mean by a real world. One is it has causal powers. There are various other ones but maybe the most important one to me is not being illusory. I argue that if were in the Matrix, none of this is fundamentally an illusion: interacting with tables and chairs, people. They do things, theyre out there independent of us and theyre not illusions. If were in a simulation, theyre just made of something different.

A specific mental hurdle I have a hard time clearing is what living in a simulation would mean for the subject-object aspect of human existence. Im thinking of a statement like I exist in the universe. In which I is the subject and the universe is the object and my sense of self comes from the distinction between the two. But if I accept the argument that we might be in a simulation, and thus the subject and object may both be artificial constructs, do I then also have to collapse my subject-object relationship? And wouldnt doing that devalue my personal experience? I dont think so. Either way, whether were in physical reality or a simulation, theres going to be conscious creatures at the core and theyre going to be interacting with the world outside themselves. Some people react to the simulation idea by saying that if that happens, its all in the mind and theres no genuine reality outside ourselves. But I think if were in a simulation, theres a vast structured external world around us. Its nature is somewhat different from what we thought, but that doesnt make it less real. Discovering that were in a simulation would then also tell us that theres potentially a reality beyond the reality that we experience, which is the reality of the simulating world, and who knows whats going on there! So I think of this, if anything, as potentially greatly expanding reality beyond the single reality were familiar with.

Chalmers at TEDxSydney in 2011. Fiona Lumsdaine/TEDxSydney.

Theres a part of me that cant quite shake the feeling that youre being a little casual about peoples connection to certain beliefs about reality. I understand that youre saying that those beliefs can flow just as well from a virtual digital world, and maybe you have an enlightened view or are more open-minded than I am, but is it also possible that theres something sort of emotionally dissociative about this kind of philosophical investigation? Thats fair, and there are different people that are going to have different philosophical and emotional attitudes to virtual worlds. If some people are going to have a viscerally negative reaction to spending time there then they certainly should not be spending time there. I understand this. Many people have a viscerally negative reaction to the digital over the analog.

But I think thats kind of beside the point. Its not so much about resisting changing from one format to another. Its about a fundamental belief about what reality consists of. And youre positing that people will just switch modes of thinking and belief which are based on that fundamental reality. I may be a Luddite, but that switch seems like it could be a pretty big leap for some people. I guess I want to have a philosophical conversation with a person like that and say maybe first start by thinking about what weve already learned from quantum mechanics and other very abstract areas of physics that suggest that physical reality at the bottom level is not the solid bunch of building blocks and space that we might have thought it was. Maybe some people would have the reaction to that of, well, in light of quantum mechanics, the world is less real than Id thought. But Id try to convince them that as long as theres this world out there appropriately connected to our consciousness then that is a form of reality always remembering that we have this amazing capacity to invest things with meaning ourselves. Theres not a fundamental obstacle here. I would also point out theres a whole lot of people out there who are going to be able to find new kinds of meaning from virtual worlds who may well be restricted in various ways from their access to the physical world. Whether its disabled people or people in oppressed societies.

Constructing either a perfect simulation or a fully developed virtual world would probably require conscious A.I. How close are we to understanding what the missing ingredient is that would give A.I. the spark of consciousness? Consciousness remains a mystery. We dont know how consciousness could arise in a digital system. But we also dont know how consciousness arises in biological systems. It may well be that once we have a solution to the problem of consciousness, that will transform how we think about all these things. Its very likely that at some point in the future well have A.I. systems as sophisticated as humans are. Maybe even A.I. systems that simulate human brains. At that point, my view is its very likely that A.I.s will be conscious. Theres nothing special about being made of biology versus being made of silicon that means one gets to be conscious and the other one not.

But why is it likely that A.I.s will be conscious given that we still have no idea what it is that generates consciousness in the first place? I dont think theres a guarantee that artificial systems are going to have the potential for consciousness because, as you say, we dont fully understand consciousness. But there are a lot of reasons to take it pretty seriously. Heres an example: someone says that if I build a biological duplicate of us, it will be conscious. Most of us would find that plausible even though we dont understand consciousness perfectly. Once weve established that much, then the question is, Which features of us are going to be most relevant in producing consciousness? Is it the specific biology or is it the information processing? There are lots of reasons to think its not the specific biology. I think theres solid reasons to go with the information processing, and if thats the case then theres a strong case for the possibility of digital consciousness.

Does thinking so much about the nature of reality and consciousness and sorry to put it crudely ever freak you out? It happens less when Im thinking about this stuff professionally but absolutely there are moments where its: Im conscious and somehow the world is present to me. How can this be? Or every now and then Ill look in the mirror and say: Why does this guy David Chalmers keep following me around? Every time I look in the mirror, hes there. Thats kind of freaky. How did I get to be somebody in the first place? And then when you start thinking about simulations: What if the only person in the simulation is me?

As Im sure you can tell, this stuff freaks me out sometimes. You can try to think of our own ordinary physical universe as being a digital universe with bits at the bottom. Thats not pathological; thats just a way for the world to be. I want to normalize this idea of simulations. I quite like the recent movie Free Guy where the guy discovers hes a nonplayer character in a video game and instead of totally freaking out None of this is real! he starts a movement. Its like, OK, were real people too, and our lives matter and our world matters. Thats thinking of the simulated world not as dystopia but as a place where people can live meaningful lives.

Let me ask you this: If we are in the Matrix, why would the simulators have made two such terrible sequels? Im hopeful well have an answer soon. Im counting on the fourth one!

This interview has been edited and condensed from two conversations.

David Marchese is a staff writer for the magazine and the columnist for Talk. Recently he interviewed Brian Cox about the filthy rich, Dr. Becky about the ultimate goal of parenting and Tiffany Haddish about Gods sense of humor.

Originally posted here:

Can We Have a Meaningful Life in a Virtual World? - The New York Times