Why I'm Worried About the Future of VR

A look "under the hood" of the Oculus Connect. This image depicts how the technology/camera combines in-real-life object detection with the position of the user to overlay VR features with that environment 

     

It's not often that I leave a tech conference keynote feeling like I just attended an academic seminar in which I had mistakenly enrolled.

Of course, being a natural cynic, I have left them with skepticism. "Will that product actually ever roll out?" "Does the technology really work the way it appears to in video demos?"

When I outlined my key predictions for Oculus Connect yesterday, I was perhaps approaching it from an over-optimistic point-of-view (which, if you know me at all, is highly out of character).

I had hoped to see more use cases for VR that involved training people in the workplace, helping them get to know each other in a safe (virtual) environment before meeting in person -- a possible integration with Facebook for Dating -- and donating VR headsets to underserved schools to aid learning. But what we heard today didn't reflect that.

Instead, we received one major announcement -- the future launch of the Oculus Quest -- a heavy emphasis on new gaming features, and an extensive lesson on how the history of Big Tech will dictate VR's future. And while the adoption of VR today is nowhere near mass usage, the picture painted for the future of VR could be cause for concern.

And for the hardware, it has to be okay to wear in public without 1) walking into trees, walls, and other people, or 2) looking weird. That means that the ultimate mixed reality headset -- the one that truly leads to a mass adoption of VR -- can't be a headset at all. It has to be a pair of glasses.

VR for the Masses: A Good or Bad Idea?

As with most emerging technologies, there are both positive and negative sides to a future where, as we're able to "combine the real with the virtual whenever we want."

On the plus side, we have benefits for those who suffer from mental health issues like panic disorders: a future in which these users can instantly converge something calming -- like a positive environment replete with a guided breathing exercise -- with the panic-inducing environment or situation around them.

But when evaluating the drawbacks of such usability, I point to the fact that so many of us -- myself included -- already engage in the unhealthy habit of constantly looking down at or checking our phones, no matter what we're doing or who we're with. Technology has already caused us to evolve to a point of being addicted to mobile devices in a way that's diminished our attention spans and empathy -- especially among younger generations who could actually live to see this future.

Now, layer that present reality with a future one where VR usage is commonplace in everyday life. We're simultaneously over-connected, but are also soiled from real-life engagement with others -- and even when we do venture into public, can easily replace what's actually happening around us with a virtual "improvement."

It's a future that's a way's off -- and that's if My vision of mass consumption of VR comes to fruition. But if it plays out in this manner, the long-term implications should be considered.

Should this future come true -- one where we can quickly overlay actual reality with something else -- could it also evolve us to a point when we're no longer being able to cope with conflict, stress, or other scenarios where we've historically relied on survival instincts?

Many other things would need to happen first. More people would have to start using VR, perhaps to the extent to which we use smartphones. More people will have to be able to afford it, too. And there might have to be rules -- perhaps within the same vein of outlawing texting while driving, or using phones in the classroom among a certain age group.

But there are those who can see both sides of the issue -- how VR can be used for extreme good, but that it should be approached with caution.

But if Oculus truly wishes to put people first, and put an emphasis on the human side of technology -- its long-term impact on the very people into whose hands these products will go should be carefully and slowly evaluated. Like many other modern developments, there's a column each for the pros and cons of VR.