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I have a theory, and as far as I can see it's quite a good theory, and I would like to share it with you.
The 2 most major growth markets in the world are Technology and Entertainment, and on numerous occasions the two industries are linked, with Television, The Internet and the all important Computerised Gaming. As time passes, people in the world will become much richer, and will have much more free time due to the higher productivity and shorter working hours produced by mechanisation of jobs and the increased ability to work from home. This means there will be an even greater demand for entertainment, and with the ever improving technology much of the free time will be spent playing the Games of the Future - Artificial Reality Simulations.
These simulations will be so advanced that you won't be able to tell the difference between them and reality. And as such, people will no longer play games, but they will play reality itself. People will be able to live out their dreams such as scoring the winning goal in a world cup final, or getting to know Kylie Minouge just that little bit better. But then of course, there is the dark side.
Just as people will be able to live out their dreams, so will people be able to commit horrendous crimes such as murder, rape, and worse still. And what's more, inside the soul of everyone lies a desire to commit such acts. Have you ever wanted to get your own back on someone, wanted to cause them pain? Well now you can do it, without breaking the law, with no consequences, and with a completely clean conscience. And you might find that you liked it so much that you wanted to do it again, and again, and again, each time finishing with a clear conscience.
But surely this is good isn't it? People who can commit their crimes in a game will be less likely to commit them in real life, it will take away their fellonious desires. Or will it awaken a criminal urge in many more people in the world who, without the machine would never have thought of doing such things? And how long before someone desides they want to try it out in real life, on real people? What then?
The future of gaming is bright. But not for long.
The 2 most major growth markets in the world are Technology and Entertainment, and on numerous occasions the two industries are linked, with Television, The Internet and the all important Computerised Gaming. As time passes, people in the world will become much richer, and will have much more free time due to the higher productivity and shorter working hours produced by mechanisation of jobs and the increased ability to work from home. This means there will be an even greater demand for entertainment, and with the ever improving technology much of the free time will be spent playing the Games of the Future - Artificial Reality Simulations.
These simulations will be so advanced that you won't be able to tell the difference between them and reality. And as such, people will no longer play games, but they will play reality itself. People will be able to live out their dreams such as scoring the winning goal in a world cup final, or getting to know Kylie Minouge just that little bit better. But then of course, there is the dark side.
Just as people will be able to live out their dreams, so will people be able to commit horrendous crimes such as murder, rape, and worse still. And what's more, inside the soul of everyone lies a desire to commit such acts. Have you ever wanted to get your own back on someone, wanted to cause them pain? Well now you can do it, without breaking the law, with no consequences, and with a completely clean conscience. And you might find that you liked it so much that you wanted to do it again, and again, and again, each time finishing with a clear conscience.
But surely this is good isn't it? People who can commit their crimes in a game will be less likely to commit them in real life, it will take away their fellonious desires. Or will it awaken a criminal urge in many more people in the world who, without the machine would never have thought of doing such things? And how long before someone desides they want to try it out in real life, on real people? What then?
The future of gaming is bright. But not for long.
Thanks for the replies people. I've thought quite a bit on this subject and it's nice to have a discussion about it.
I don't know how powerful computers are in comparison to a human brain, but a snails brain sounds about right. The problem I think is not how much data that can be stored, I'm certain in fact that we can already store enough data on current technology. I think the problem lies with how fast the data can be sent. Currently it takes about half a second to send an email all the way around the world, which seems quite fast. But compared to the speed of the signals of the human brain this is pitifully slow and it would be impossible to run a simulation into the brain at a slower speed.
Another problem, and the one that will probably take the most time to solve is the anatomy of the brain itself. Very little is known about the brain, and even a brain surgeon could only tell you vaguely which areas did what. As the brain is such a delicate and vital organ a near perfect knowledge of the brains layout would be needed before anyone would even think of trying it. So for total imersion games we are definitely going to have to wait quite a long while.
As for the problem of 'immoral' use of such machines, I think the problem could be much greater than just a few nutters re-enacting scenes from GTA. By the time you have machines this powerful the data storage capacity will also have increased, meaning that not only could they create games that were just like reality, they could recreate reality itself. You could have a simulation of your town, filled with recreations of real people, people that you know in real life. And what's more, it would be totally convincing. So doing domething in the simulation would be just like doing it for real. So if you did, for example, exact your revenge on your enemy, whoever they are, then the danger lies in you getting a taste for killing real people that you know.
But, as was said, their could be by then the ability to mentally screen someone so that people with possible tendancies towards these criminal acts could be kept from using them. But that would be difficult to enforce because of the freedom it takes from people.
I think, as with most things in life, the bad consequences from misuse are proportional to the good benifits from proper use, and with the amount of pleasure and benefits that could be gained from this, the potential problems could be disastrous.
I just hope that by the time that this is possible, people will know better than to commit crimes for real.
A final thought. If simulations could be built of anywhere in the world, and even beyond it, and they were totally convincing, would people ever leave their homes. If you wanted a stroll you could just strap on the AR machine. If you wanted to travel the world, you could do it from the comfort of your own home. All food could be delivered, all work could be sent via the internet (Manual labour done by robots and specialists). You need never leave your front door, not for entertainment, for shopping, for work or anything. What kind of a world would that be?
I don't know how powerful computers are in comparison to a human brain, but a snails brain sounds about right. The problem I think is not how much data that can be stored, I'm certain in fact that we can already store enough data on current technology. I think the problem lies with how fast the data can be sent. Currently it takes about half a second to send an email all the way around the world, which seems quite fast. But compared to the speed of the signals of the human brain this is pitifully slow and it would be impossible to run a simulation into the brain at a slower speed.
Another problem, and the one that will probably take the most time to solve is the anatomy of the brain itself. Very little is known about the brain, and even a brain surgeon could only tell you vaguely which areas did what. As the brain is such a delicate and vital organ a near perfect knowledge of the brains layout would be needed before anyone would even think of trying it. So for total imersion games we are definitely going to have to wait quite a long while.
As for the problem of 'immoral' use of such machines, I think the problem could be much greater than just a few nutters re-enacting scenes from GTA. By the time you have machines this powerful the data storage capacity will also have increased, meaning that not only could they create games that were just like reality, they could recreate reality itself. You could have a simulation of your town, filled with recreations of real people, people that you know in real life. And what's more, it would be totally convincing. So doing domething in the simulation would be just like doing it for real. So if you did, for example, exact your revenge on your enemy, whoever they are, then the danger lies in you getting a taste for killing real people that you know.
But, as was said, their could be by then the ability to mentally screen someone so that people with possible tendancies towards these criminal acts could be kept from using them. But that would be difficult to enforce because of the freedom it takes from people.
I think, as with most things in life, the bad consequences from misuse are proportional to the good benifits from proper use, and with the amount of pleasure and benefits that could be gained from this, the potential problems could be disastrous.
I just hope that by the time that this is possible, people will know better than to commit crimes for real.
A final thought. If simulations could be built of anywhere in the world, and even beyond it, and they were totally convincing, would people ever leave their homes. If you wanted a stroll you could just strap on the AR machine. If you wanted to travel the world, you could do it from the comfort of your own home. All food could be delivered, all work could be sent via the internet (Manual labour done by robots and specialists). You need never leave your front door, not for entertainment, for shopping, for work or anything. What kind of a world would that be?
AliBoy wrote:
> They have predicted (They being clever computer science type people) that in 20
> years a dektop will have the processing ability of the human brain (Ie stores
> and computes on the same level as a human brain) and that within 30 years a
> desktop will have the processing ability of every human brain on the planet
> earth.
Mindblowing facts but with the way things are going so far they are spot
> on.
Should be good when the time comes : )
I dread to think what the super computers will be like then.
I didn't know that! Not sure i believe it though.
Think of the damage people (governments) could do!
> They have predicted (They being clever computer science type people) that in 20
> years a dektop will have the processing ability of the human brain (Ie stores
> and computes on the same level as a human brain) and that within 30 years a
> desktop will have the processing ability of every human brain on the planet
> earth.
Mindblowing facts but with the way things are going so far they are spot
> on.
Should be good when the time comes : )
I dread to think what the super computers will be like then.
I didn't know that! Not sure i believe it though.
Think of the damage people (governments) could do!
They have predicted (They being clever computer science type people) that in 20 years a dektop will have the processing ability of the human brain (Ie stores and computes on the same level as a human brain) and that within 30 years a desktop will have the processing ability of every human brain on the planet earth.
Mindblowing facts but with the way things are going so far they are spot on.
Should be good when the time comes : )
Mindblowing facts but with the way things are going so far they are spot on.
Should be good when the time comes : )
I like to think about what the future of gaming holds and write quite regularly about it. You raised some quite interesting points here.. not sure why everyone else seems to have ignored your post.
You talk about a time in the future where gaming will be indistinguishable from reality - sounds kinda like everyone having their own personal independent matrix. However, just think about the power which would be involved in that!
Computers are no where near as powerful as the human brain. It was estimated somewhere (can't remember where, some scientists in america researched it i think) that the worlds most powerful super computers having the processing power equivilent to a snail.
If this 'personal matrix' idea was to come about however, we would need computers which could sends signals to the brain at the same speed as it processes them - only then could you breach the gap between reality and virtual reality.
This would not be the same as strapping googles to your head and sensors to your arms. For total imersion, you would have to fool your brain into thinking that you were actually doing these things rather than looking at a computer rendered image. This is why the comuters would need to be really fast to keep up with the processing demand from your brain. Too slow and your brain will realise that something ain't quite right and the realism would be lost.
I guess the end result would be something like having a dream. You really think you are running around doing whatever it is in your dream, yet really its just a figment of your imagination and you are actually lying quite still in bed. The only difference with this system would be that you could choose exactly what the dreams held for you.
This leads me on to your next points about the 'abuse' of the games. Obviously people could write games like GTA3 which would be highly realistic and highly controversial. Whether or not this was a good or bad thing would have to depend on the person.
Let me explain. At the moment, we constantly see in the media, people claiming that they/others are influenced by games such as GTA3. Unfortunately, these situations would likely increase with such realistic games. I think that the reason why most people can just get up from playing a game and leave their experiences behind, is because they know that they are looking simply at a few sprites on a TV. Putting people into games where they cannot tell if they are playing a game or not will probably confuse them. It doesn't take a genius to realise that some idiot would take things too far thinking that either they are still in a game or that what they do in games is now acceptable in society.
Having said that, there certainly will be many who are strong minded enough to keep things in their place - its the minority (which I think will increase) who take it too far that we should be concerned about. Strong minded people seem to be few are far between these days. It seems to be the norm to get to GCSE's and then leave school thinking life will work itself out. Then they end up as a 'trolly wally' in Tescos for the rest of their lives. Its a shame to see people throw away their lives because they are following their mates and the people who went before them.
In conclusion though, I think we are a long way off it anyway. I mentioned the power i think would need to be involved in these machines and we are certainly no-where near it! Hopefully society will sort itself out before we do get there and with any luck, these issues will not be so large. Introduction of psycopathic tests before you are allowd to buy a machine or something! Who knows? It may happen!
***
Well, that was kinda longer than I expected! Excellent post there mate. Raised some good points on a subject I enjoy writing on.
Cheers
GH
You talk about a time in the future where gaming will be indistinguishable from reality - sounds kinda like everyone having their own personal independent matrix. However, just think about the power which would be involved in that!
Computers are no where near as powerful as the human brain. It was estimated somewhere (can't remember where, some scientists in america researched it i think) that the worlds most powerful super computers having the processing power equivilent to a snail.
If this 'personal matrix' idea was to come about however, we would need computers which could sends signals to the brain at the same speed as it processes them - only then could you breach the gap between reality and virtual reality.
This would not be the same as strapping googles to your head and sensors to your arms. For total imersion, you would have to fool your brain into thinking that you were actually doing these things rather than looking at a computer rendered image. This is why the comuters would need to be really fast to keep up with the processing demand from your brain. Too slow and your brain will realise that something ain't quite right and the realism would be lost.
I guess the end result would be something like having a dream. You really think you are running around doing whatever it is in your dream, yet really its just a figment of your imagination and you are actually lying quite still in bed. The only difference with this system would be that you could choose exactly what the dreams held for you.
This leads me on to your next points about the 'abuse' of the games. Obviously people could write games like GTA3 which would be highly realistic and highly controversial. Whether or not this was a good or bad thing would have to depend on the person.
Let me explain. At the moment, we constantly see in the media, people claiming that they/others are influenced by games such as GTA3. Unfortunately, these situations would likely increase with such realistic games. I think that the reason why most people can just get up from playing a game and leave their experiences behind, is because they know that they are looking simply at a few sprites on a TV. Putting people into games where they cannot tell if they are playing a game or not will probably confuse them. It doesn't take a genius to realise that some idiot would take things too far thinking that either they are still in a game or that what they do in games is now acceptable in society.
Having said that, there certainly will be many who are strong minded enough to keep things in their place - its the minority (which I think will increase) who take it too far that we should be concerned about. Strong minded people seem to be few are far between these days. It seems to be the norm to get to GCSE's and then leave school thinking life will work itself out. Then they end up as a 'trolly wally' in Tescos for the rest of their lives. Its a shame to see people throw away their lives because they are following their mates and the people who went before them.
In conclusion though, I think we are a long way off it anyway. I mentioned the power i think would need to be involved in these machines and we are certainly no-where near it! Hopefully society will sort itself out before we do get there and with any luck, these issues will not be so large. Introduction of psycopathic tests before you are allowd to buy a machine or something! Who knows? It may happen!
***
Well, that was kinda longer than I expected! Excellent post there mate. Raised some good points on a subject I enjoy writing on.
Cheers
GH
I have a theory, and as far as I can see it's quite a good theory, and I would like to share it with you.
The 2 most major growth markets in the world are Technology and Entertainment, and on numerous occasions the two industries are linked, with Television, The Internet and the all important Computerised Gaming. As time passes, people in the world will become much richer, and will have much more free time due to the higher productivity and shorter working hours produced by mechanisation of jobs and the increased ability to work from home. This means there will be an even greater demand for entertainment, and with the ever improving technology much of the free time will be spent playing the Games of the Future - Artificial Reality Simulations.
These simulations will be so advanced that you won't be able to tell the difference between them and reality. And as such, people will no longer play games, but they will play reality itself. People will be able to live out their dreams such as scoring the winning goal in a world cup final, or getting to know Kylie Minouge just that little bit better. But then of course, there is the dark side.
Just as people will be able to live out their dreams, so will people be able to commit horrendous crimes such as murder, rape, and worse still. And what's more, inside the soul of everyone lies a desire to commit such acts. Have you ever wanted to get your own back on someone, wanted to cause them pain? Well now you can do it, without breaking the law, with no consequences, and with a completely clean conscience. And you might find that you liked it so much that you wanted to do it again, and again, and again, each time finishing with a clear conscience.
But surely this is good isn't it? People who can commit their crimes in a game will be less likely to commit them in real life, it will take away their fellonious desires. Or will it awaken a criminal urge in many more people in the world who, without the machine would never have thought of doing such things? And how long before someone desides they want to try it out in real life, on real people? What then?
The future of gaming is bright. But not for long.
The 2 most major growth markets in the world are Technology and Entertainment, and on numerous occasions the two industries are linked, with Television, The Internet and the all important Computerised Gaming. As time passes, people in the world will become much richer, and will have much more free time due to the higher productivity and shorter working hours produced by mechanisation of jobs and the increased ability to work from home. This means there will be an even greater demand for entertainment, and with the ever improving technology much of the free time will be spent playing the Games of the Future - Artificial Reality Simulations.
These simulations will be so advanced that you won't be able to tell the difference between them and reality. And as such, people will no longer play games, but they will play reality itself. People will be able to live out their dreams such as scoring the winning goal in a world cup final, or getting to know Kylie Minouge just that little bit better. But then of course, there is the dark side.
Just as people will be able to live out their dreams, so will people be able to commit horrendous crimes such as murder, rape, and worse still. And what's more, inside the soul of everyone lies a desire to commit such acts. Have you ever wanted to get your own back on someone, wanted to cause them pain? Well now you can do it, without breaking the law, with no consequences, and with a completely clean conscience. And you might find that you liked it so much that you wanted to do it again, and again, and again, each time finishing with a clear conscience.
But surely this is good isn't it? People who can commit their crimes in a game will be less likely to commit them in real life, it will take away their fellonious desires. Or will it awaken a criminal urge in many more people in the world who, without the machine would never have thought of doing such things? And how long before someone desides they want to try it out in real life, on real people? What then?
The future of gaming is bright. But not for long.