Microsoft says virtual reality will soon have same mind-bending effects as LSD
WINDOWS OF PERCEPTION Microsoft says virtual reality will
soon have same mind-bending effects as LSD
Tech giant's top researcher says VR will cause
hallucinations which 'blend or alter perceived reality'
BY JASPER HAMILL
7th December 2016, 11:58 am
VIRTUAL reality technology will soon be so powerful that
it will cause drug-like hallucinations, Microsoft has predicted.
One of the tech firm’s top researchers said VR would be
able to warp reality and catapult users into a new world.
In the golden age of the 1960s, psychedelic adventurers
used LSD to produce a similar effect, often getting naked and enjoying
unabashed sex soundtracked by some of the best music ever written.
But anyone looking to trip out on virtual reality will
probably do so alone in their room, wearing a helmet and unlikely to be touched
by another human being.
Mar Gonzalez Franco, a researcher at Microsoft’s Redmond
headquarters, said: “By 2027 we will have ubiquitous virtual reality systems
that will provide such rich multisensorial experiences that will be capable of
producing hallucinations which blend or alter perceived reality.
“Using this technology, humans will retrain, recalibrate
and improve their perceptual systems.”
The technology will also be refined to incorporate
“haptic” systems, which simulate touching or being touched.
Franco added: “In contrast to current virtual reality
systems that only stimulate visual and auditory senses, in the future the
experience will expand to other sensory modalities including tactile with
haptic devices.”
The tech expert was speaking out as part of a project
which quizzed Microsoft’s female employees about their predictions for the
future.
Most of them said artificial intelligence would play a
greater role in our lives, bossing us about and saving us from making “sub
optimal decisions”.
If you think that sounds pretty miserable, wait until you
hear what we’ll be doing instead of working.
Nicole Immorlica, senior researcher, New England research
lab, said: "By 2027, automation will give rise to a new economy in which
most people’s societal contribution comes from the data they generate as they
go about their lives rather than the work they do."
What this means is that in 10 years we'll be under
constant surveillance and milked for the data we produce, with nothing to look
forward to except a lonely evening spent getting high in virtual reality.
Thanks Microsoft.
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