Week 11 Lecture.pptx

Ethics in Virtual and Augmented Reality BU 1173 Week 11 Miss Amanda Paananen Today’s Agenda • • • What is virtual reality? What is augmented reality? How are these technologies being experienced and used? Virtual Reality (VR) • • • • • • • • Replaces real world Immersive multimedia/computer-...

Ethics in Virtual and Augmented Reality BU 1173 Week 11 Miss Amanda Paananen Today’s Agenda • • • What is virtual reality? What is augmented reality? How are these technologies being experienced and used? Virtual Reality (VR) • • • • • • • • Replaces real world Immersive multimedia/computer-simulated Replicates environment Simulates physical presence Allows interaction First introduced in the 1950s Push in gaming world in 1990s Headset consumer market today VR Explained VR Has a Multitude of Uses for Education and Entertainment Virtual travel, field trips Places, spaces, and SPACE Immersive training Military Driving Other Simulations Storytelling Gaming Therapy Marketing Autism TMI Virtual Reality Experience Augmented Reality (AR) • • • Augments or adds to real world Blends digital with physical world Upcoming technology, using glasses or headsets with smart devices (phones, tablets) AR Explained Headsets, Glasses and Devices • Oculus Rift • HTC Vive • Samsung Gear • Google Cardboard • Zeiss VR One and Zeiss VR One GX • Sony PS4 • Google Glass • Microsoft Hololens ETHICAL ISSUES: Hypervisor Security • • In general virtualization, the hypervisor is a software program responsible for managing the virtual entities created and allowing them to share the physical core of the virtualization process. Besides its traditional role of creating and managing virtual entities, the hypervisor is also responsible for the security between these virtual entities. However, whatever security provided to the virtual infrastructure is not enough. One has to remember again that the hypervisor is still a software package that is prone to all software threats and vulnerabilities as usual. • ETHICAL ISSUES: Securing Communications Between Desktop and Virtual Environment This is an old problem with probably similar security threats and vulnerabilities and same protocols and best practices with communications between two or more physical network environments. In this particular case, we are focusing on the pathways between the desktop and the virtual environment. Securing these pathways is essential in order to prevent eavesdropping, data leakage, and man-in-the-middle attacks ETHICAL ISSUES: Threats and Vulnerabilities Originating from a Virtual Environment • We have been talking only about threats and vulnerabilities that are pumped upstream from the workstations, the hypervisor, and from the host machines into the virtual machines. There is also a high potential for threats and vulnerabilities originating from the individual virtual machines and spreading downstream to the hypervisor, the hosts, and the desktops. The good news is that most of these problems can be handled by current best practices including protocols and vendor patches. ETHICAL ISSUES: Security of Communication Between Virtual Environments • In a virtual environment, every host has a kind of virtual switch which manages and directs all inter-virtual environment traffic that goes via the host. This virtual switch creates a potential threat to all virtual environments connected to this host. Although this is the case, standard protocols and best practices enjoyed in physical network router infrastructure for network monitoring and intrusion detection can still be deployed and successfully used in the virtual switching environment. OK… So, What Does This Look Like In The Real World? User protection Users may require at least some physical protection, depending on the nature of the headset. If deprived of real-time sensory feedback, users could end up walking into walls or fail to recognize key dangers in their immediate surroundings. There are already some suggested resolutions for this, including using a circular walking arc to simulate straight-line walking without ever walking past an intended boundary, but they still need time for development. User isolation and social effects Already, we’ve seen the rise of technology capable of forming physical addiction. Though rare, some individuals are so consumed by social media and/or video games that they isolate themselves from society to an unhealthy degree. When entire, immersive worlds are available to explore, who’s job will it be to prevent that from happening? Article: 15 Times People Died While Playing Video Games | TheRichest Pornographic Content • • • There’s already some evidence that excessive exposure to pornography could influence harmful behavior toward women. If users engage with pornographic content in an even more realistic environment, with a first-person style of interaction, what effects could that have on violent crime? The problem becomes even more complicated when you introduce the possibility of simulated interactions with realworld people, or the possibility of virtual sexual acts that are illegal in the real world. Virtual Crimes • • Speaking of crimes, how are we going to manage the execution of crimes in a virtual world? Today’s video game culture is separated by the veil of screens and controllers; titles like Grand Theft Auto may allow a person’s avatar to kill and steal but using thumb gestures to control an onscreen character is much different than executing a stabbing motion or pulling the trigger yourself in a hyper-realistic environment. Real–World Applications After spending too much time in a virtual environment, it may be difficult for users to return to the real world and behave the same way they did before the virtual experience. They may be desensitized to certain types of violence or interactions, which could damage their social relationships. They may also overestimate their physical abilities, attempting a jump they can’t make or trying a skill they’ve only perfected in a VR environment. In-Game Trauma It may not be necessary to experience an event in physical reality to experience the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For games that require tough moral decisions, or experiences that simulate a harrowing ordeal, participants may be forced to deal with lasting psychological consequences. How are VR developers going to prevent this, or manage it when it occurs? VR as Torture • What if you could inflict trauma on someone in a virtual environment? Would that count as torture? The answer isn’t black-and-white, but it’s a question we need to explore — and one that’s been raised by philosophers. • Military personnel may view VR as a kind of ethical alternative to torture, putting people through horrible experiences without ever inflicting any physical harm. You could make an easy case that this is immoral behavior, but who’s responsible for controlling or stopping it? Virtual Travel • VR could help people explore the world, introducing them to new countries and locations they might otherwise never get to visit. But what about sites that severely restrict visitors? Is it ethical to allow someone to remotely visit a site that’s considered holy? Or allow someone to peek around an ex’s apartment? What kind of limits are we going to impose for virtual travel? User Privacy • As with most new technologies, we also need to think about user privacy. Users will be able to take more actions and interact with more types of content than ever before, engaging in behaviors they may avoid in the real world. Who is responsible for ensuring users’ privacy, and how could this data be used? Should it be allowed to be given to advertisers or remain in the individual’s control.