Is it really possible for a medium to totally immerse an individual to the point that that individual loses all sense of reality?
Just reading that question conjures up thoughts of The Matrix, does it not? The fact of the matter is, we are becoming a society that needs technological satiation. Does this however mean that we will one day be immersed in it to the point that our past realities are forgotten? I sure hope not. This dystopian idea that man and technology will one day become synonymous scares me. With interactive video games (Wii), online worlds (WOW, Secondlife, etc.), and other biotechnologies, the line is blurring between man and machine. When will the line disappear causing man and machine to combine into one livable, communicative, being.
To simply answer this question, to me, is impossible. It is impossible to know what the future holds. What is possible however is to explore current trends in technology and piece together a possible projection of things to come. When looking as such a model, one can only come to one conclusion: We ain't seen nothing yet. I fully believe we will have 100% immersive technologies, take the Pepsi Pavilion or VIEW, but to bring to the point of forgetting actual reality is a stretch at this point in time. Now, if you were to say that to someone who has devoted their life to Everquest, Secondlife, or World of Warcraft, they might laugh at you. But to totally forget that you are playing a game, participating in a experiment, or using virtual reality seems far fetched (though possible).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment