The Ethics Of Virtual And Augmented Reality

This book offers new ways of thinking about and assessing the impact of virtual reality on its users. It argues that we must go beyond traditional psychological concepts of VR "presence" to better understand the many varieties of virtual experiences. The author provides compelling evidence that VR simulations are capable of producing "virtually real" experiences in people. He also provides a framework for understanding when and how simulations induce virtually real experiences. From these insights, the book shows that virtually real experiences are responsible for several unaddressed ethical issues in VR research and design. Experimental philosophers, moral psychologists, and institutional review boards must become sensitive to the ethical issues involved between designing "realistic" virtual dilemmas, for good data collection, and avoiding virtually real trauma. Ethicists and game designers must do more to ensure that their simulations don’t inculcate harmful character traits. Virtually real experiences, the author claims, can make virtual relationships meaningful, productive, and conducive to welfare but they can also be used to systematically mislead and manipulate users about the nature of their experiences. The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Reality will appeal to philosophers working in applied ethics, philosophy of technology, and aesthetics, as well as researchers and students interested in game studies and game design.

This book examines the ethics of virtual reality (VR) technologies. New forms of virtual reality are emerging in society, not just from low-cost gaming headsets, or augmented reality apps on phones, but from simulated “deep fake” images and videos on social media. This book subjects the new VR technological landscape to ethical scrutiny: assessing the benefits, risks and regulatory practices that shape it. Though often associated with gaming, education and therapy, VR can also be used for moral enhancement. Journalists, artists, philanthropic and non-governmental organisations are using VR films, games and installations to stimulate user empathy to marginalised peoples through a combination of immersion, embodiment and persuasion. This book critically assesses the use of VR for empathy arousal and pro-social behaviour change, culminating in the development of a VR “ethical tool” – a device to facilitate reflective ethical judgement. Drawing upon the pragmatist philosophy of John Dewey, virtual reality is reshaped as “dramatic rehearsal”. This book explains how a combination of immersive environment-building, moral imagination, choice architecture and reflective engagement can stimulate a future-focused and empathic ethics for users of the technology.

Augmented Reality (AR) is the blending of digital information in a real-world environment. A common example can be seen during any televised football game, in which information about the game is digitally overlaid on the field as the players move and position themselves. Another application is Google Glass, which enables users to see AR graphics and information about their location and surroundings on the lenses of their "digital eyewear", changing in real-time as they move about. Augmented Reality Law, Privacy, and Ethics is the first book to examine the social, legal, and ethical issues surrounding AR technology. Digital eyewear products have very recently thrust this rapidly-expanding field into the mainstream, but the technology is so much more than those devices. Industry analysts have dubbed AR the "eighth mass medium" of communications. Science fiction movies have shown us the promise of this technology for decades, and now our capabilities are finally catching up to that vision. Augmented Reality will influence society as fundamentally as the Internet itself has done, and such a powerful medium cannot help but radically affect the laws and norms that govern society. No author is as uniquely qualified to provide a big-picture forecast and guidebook for these developments as Brian Wassom. A practicing attorney, he has been writing on AR law since 2007 and has established himself as the world's foremost thought leader on the intersection of law, ethics, privacy, and AR. Augmented Reality professionals around the world follow his Augmented Legality® blog. This book collects and expands upon the best ideas expressed in that blog, and sets them in the context of a big-picture forecast of how AR is shaping all aspects of society. Augmented reality thought-leader Brian Wassom provides you with insight into how AR is changing our world socially, ethically, and legally. Includes current examples, case studies, and legal cases from the frontiers of AR technology. Learn how AR is changing our world in the areas of civil rights, privacy, litigation, courtroom procedure, addition, pornography, criminal activity, patent, copyright, and free speech. An invaluable reference guide to the impacts of this cutting-edge technology for anyone who is developing apps for it, using it, or affected by it in daily life.

This book presents a collection of the latest research in the area of immersive technologies, presented at the International Augmented and Virtual Reality Conference 2018 in Manchester, UK, and showcases how augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are transforming the business landscape. Innovations in this field are seen as providing opportunities for businesses to offer their customers unique services and experiences. The papers gathered here advance the state of the art in AR/VR technologies and their applications in various industries such as healthcare, tourism, hospitality, events, fashion, entertainment, retail, education and gaming. The volume collects contributions by prominent computer and social sciences experts from around the globe. Addressing the most significant topics in the field of augmented and virtual reality and sharing the latest findings, it will be of interest to academics and practitioners alike.

Virtual and augmented reality raise significant questions for law and policy. When should virtual world activities or augmented reality images count as protected First Amendment ‘speech’, and when are they instead a nuisance or trespass? When does copying them infringe intellectual property laws? When should a person (or computer) face legal consequences for allegedly harmful virtual acts? The Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality addresses these questions and others, drawing upon free speech doctrine, criminal law, issues of data protection and privacy, legal rights for increasingly intelligent avatars, and issues of jurisdiction within virtual and augmented reality worlds.

Ethical Considerations of Virtual Reality in the College Classroom collects case studies that address both pedagogical and ethical foundations of extended reality tools in postsecondary learning environments across disciplines. With today’s institutional programs and faculty leveraging cutting-edge virtual, augmented, and mixed reality opportunities to teach and promote achievement goals, it is imperative that new research into these technologies speaks directly to their challenges and affordances within broad academic settings. This book showcases real-world examples of faculty members who chronicle and develop their use of VR tools across learning contexts and student populations by creating their own digital experiences, adapting open-source tools, integrating commercial products, amplifying crucial course content, analyzing outcomes data, and more. Nontechnical readers will come away with a new understanding of key terms and concepts associated with virtual reality and essential heuristics for evaluating the ethical implications of immersive approaches.

This comprehensive textbook offers a scientifically sound and at the same time practical introduction to Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR). Readers will gain the theoretical foundation needed to design, implement or enhance VR/AR systems, evaluate and improve user interfaces and applications using VR/AR methods, assess and enrich user experiences, and develop a deeper understanding of how to apply VR/AR techniques. Whether utilizing the book for a principal course of study or reference reading, students of computer science, education, media, natural sciences, engineering and other subject areas can benefit from its in-depth content and vivid explanation. The modular structure allows selective sequencing of topics to the requirements of each teaching unit and provides an easy-to-use format from which to choose specific themes for individual self-study. Instructors are provided with extensive materials for creating courses as well as a foundational text upon which to build their advanced topics. The book enables users from both research and industry to deal with the subject in detail so they can properly assess the extent and benefits of VR/AR deployment and determine required resources. Technology enthusiasts and professionals can learn about the current status quo in the field of VR/AR and interested newcomers can gain insight into this fascinating world. Grounded on a solid scientific foundation, this textbook, addresses topics such as perceptual aspects of VR/AR, input and output devices including tracking, interactions in virtual worlds, real-time aspects of VR/AR systems and the authoring of VR/AR applications in addition to providing a broad collection of case studies.

The increase in smartphone usage and new technologies embedded in smart devices have led to innovative developments and applications throughout a variety of industries. However, new techniques such as spatial augmented reality are becoming more affordable for business, allowing consumers to experience and interact with the world as they never have before. AR and VR have vast implications for management and can allow companies to increase their sustainability and reduce their CO2 footprint. Managerial Challenges and Social Impacts of Virtual and Augmented Reality is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the applications of VR, AR, and related technologies from the perspectives of managers and marketers in the industry and discusses the social impact of these technologies. While highlighting topics such as consumer analysis, privacy ethics, and relationship marketing, this book is ideally designed for managers, marketers, technology developers, managing directors, business professionals, academicians, students, and researchers seeking current studies on the evolution of interactive technology.