Virtual Reality Visions from Sci-Fi Movies/TV Series

Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) has inspired or motivated many of us into science and technological professional fields. "Science fiction is the playground of your imagination", says Brian David Johnson. But a playground can also be thought of as a prototyping workshop - a place to test out ideas, see what works and what holds up to the judgement of others. Sci-Fi movies give us a rich dataset of prototypes that explore different dimensions of new technologies - implementations, application domains, societal implications, etc. This talk will provide an initial analysis of Virtual Reality (VR) through the lens of Sci-Fi. What different visions for VR have been imagined in Sci-Fi? What technological solutions have been envisioned? For what purposes? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this talk.

Transcript

1. Virtual Reality Visions from Sci-Fi Movies/TV Series Jorge C. S. Cardoso | http://jorgecardoso.eu | jorgecardoso@dei.uc.pt Erasmus Mobility, Western Macedonia University, 2023
2. Por Alvesgaspar - Obra do próprio, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17732149 Established in March 1, 1290 Public Faculty: 2.126 Students: 25.580 http://www.uc.pt/ Unesco World Heritage University of Coimbra
4. Total Recall, 1990
5. Motivation: Sci-Fi as prototyping
6. Make it so (Captain Jean-Luc Picard)
7. Make It So: Interaction Design Lessons from Science Fiction by Nathan Shedroff & Christopher Noessel, 2012
8. Sci-Fi as prototyping Science fiction prototyping (SFP) refers to the idea of using science fiction to describe and explore the implications of futuristic technologies and the social structures enabled by them. Johnson, B. D. (2011). Science Fiction Prototyping: Designing the Future with Science Fiction. Morgan & Claypool Publishers. 2011
9. Prototyping “The prefix prot-, or proto-, comes from Greek and has the basic meaning "first in time" or "first formed." A prototype is someone or something that serves as a model or inspiration for those that come later. A successful fund-raising campaign can serve as a prototype for future campaigns.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prototype
10. Prototyping “Prototyping is an essential part of the designer’s repertoire. Designers prototype their projects to test them, structurally, aesthetically, technically. Whether the prototype works or not is not the point: prototyping is the revelatory process through which the designer gains insight.“ Burry, M., & Burry, J. (2016). Prototyping for Architects: Real Building for the Next Generation of Digital Designers. Thames & Hudson.
11. Prototyping Houde, S., & Hill, C. (1997). What do Prototypes Prototype? In Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-044481862-1/5 0082-0
12. VR Sci-fi Movies
13. https://bit.ly/vr_movies ⇗
14. Analysis
15. Analysis Preliminary work Speculative technology / analysis Apologetics
16. Dimensions of analysis Technology Form-factor Body position Application domain
17. Technology Matter projection External sensorial hardware Brain-Computer Interfaces TV Visual signal Direct brain tap Brainsoftware Mind digitization
18. Matter projection Star Trek: First Contact, 1996
19. Matter projection The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked. Sutherland IE (1965) The ultimate display. Proc Congr Int Fed Inf Process
20. External sensorial hardware - HMDs, Projectors, Gloves Disclosure, 1994 Johnny Mnemonic, 1995 The Call Up, 2016 Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, 2017 Ready Player One, 2018 Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019
21. Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) Brainstorm, 1983 Until The End Of The World, 1991 Strange Days, 1995 The Thirteeth Floor, 1999 The Cell, 2000 Surrogates, 2009 Avatar, 2009 Coma, 2019 Raised by Wolves, 2020 The Peripheral, 2022
22. TV Visual signal Videodrome, 1983 Brainscan, 1994
23. Direct brain tap Ghost in the Shell, 1995 The Matrix, 1999 eXistenZ, 1999 Bliss, 2021
24. Brainsoftware - nanotechnology OtherLife, 2017
25. Mind digitization TRON, 1982 Rakuen Tsuiho: Expelled from Paradise, 2014 Upload, 2020 Archive, 2020
26. Form-factor Physical form of the devices Goggles/Helmets Headsets Beds Room Suspension Eye drop Contact lenses
27. Goggles/Helmets Johnny Mnemonic, 1995 The Call Up, 2016 Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, 2017 Disclosure, 1994 Ready Player One, 2018 Avalon, 2011 Virtuality, 2009 Empathy, Inc., 2018
28. Headsets Strange Days, 1995 Brainstorm, 1983 The Peripheral, 2022 Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, 2017
29. Beds Until The End Of The World, 1991 The Thirteeth Floor, 1999 Surrogates, 2009 Avatar, 2009 Raised by Wolves, 2020 Coma, 2019
30. Room Star Trek: First Contact, 1996
31. Suspension The Cell, 2000 Assassin's Creed, 2016
32. Eye drop OtherLife, 2017
33. Body position Most frequent body position portrayed in the movie Lying down Sitting Upright Suspended No body
34. Lying down Raised by Wolves, 2020 Virtuality, 2009 The Thirteeth Floor, 1999 Avalon, 2011 Coma, 2019 The Cell, 2000 Until The End Of The World, 1991 Surrogates, 2009 Avatar, 2009 Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, 2017
35. Lying down - your bed, home Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, 2017
36. Lying down - special purpose “bed”, home Surrogates, 2009
37. Lying down - “work” bed Avatar, 2009
38. Sitting Empathy, Inc., 2018 Johnny Mnemonic, 1995 The Peripheral, 2022 eXistenZ, 1999 The Matrix, 1999 Total Recall, 1990 OtherLife, 2017 Inception, 2010 Bliss, 2021
39. Sitting Johnny Mnemonic, 1995
40. Upright Disclosure, 1994 Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019 The Call Up, 2016 Ready Player One, 2018 Star Trek: First Contact, 1996
41. Suspended Assassin's Creed, 2016
42. No body TRON, 1982 Rakuen Tsuiho: Expelled from Paradise, 2014 Upload, 2020 Archive, 2020
43. Application domain Domain of application of the VR system portrayed in the movie Long distance travel Empathy Entertainment Deception Gaming Information management Remote work Life/Afterlife Medical Punishment
44. Long distance travel Keeping the mind active and sane during long distance space travel
45. Long distance travel Raised by Wolves, 2020
46. Long distance travel Virtuality, 2009
47. Empathy understanding or feeling what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference the capacity to place oneself in another's position
48. Empathy Bliss, 2021
49. Deception the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid : the act of deceiving https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deception
50. Deception Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019
51. Deception Inception, 2010
52. Remote work Remote work is a working style that allows professionals to work outside of a traditional office environment.
53. Teleoperation Sleep Dealer, 2008
54. Afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of their stream of consciousness or an individual's identity continues to live after the death of their physical body. Belief in an afterlife is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife
55. Afterlife Upload, 2020
56. Afterlife Rakuen Tsuihou, 2014
57. Themes
58. Themes Beyond VR Cross-cutting Mind uploading / consciousness digitization Memory manipulation, recording, sharing Teleoperation
59. Mind uploading Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information processing, such that it would respond in essentially the same way as the original brain and experience having a sentient conscious mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading
60. Bodyless life Rakuen Tsuiho: Expelled from Paradise, 2014
61. Afterlife/ immortality Upload, 2020 Altered Carbon, 2018 Chappie, 2015
62. Temporary afterlife Archive, 2020
63. Mind uploading
64. Mind uploading “One way to explore the galaxy, unbound by the messy restrictions of ordinary matter, is to place our connectomes onto laser beams directed at the moon, the planets, and even the stars.” Kaku, M. (2014). The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind (1st edição). Doubleday. Curiously, mind uploading for space travel does not seem to have been portrayed in movies…
65. Memory manipulation, recording, sharing Memory implantation is a technique used in cognitive psychology to investigate human memory. In memory implantation studies researchers make people believe that they remember an event that actually never happened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_implantation
66. Tourism Total Recall, 1990
67. Entertainment OtherLife, 2017 Brainstorm, 1983 Strange Days, 1995
68. Experience sharing Until The End Of The World, 1991
69. Skill acquisition The Matrix, 1999
70. Memory manipulation, recording, sharing
71. Teleoperation Teleoperation (or remote operation) indicates operation of a system or machine at a distance. It is most commonly associated with robotics and mobile robots but can be applied to a whole range of circumstances in which a device or machine is operated by a person from a distance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleoperation
72. “Safer” life Surrogates, 2009
73. Better communication Avatar, 2009
74. Industry Sleep Dealer, 2008
75. Time-travel The Peripheral, 2022
76. Conclusion Analysis of Sci-Fi VR movies Rich playground of thought about future technologies, purposes, ways of using Using in classes about VR
77. ευχαριστώ Thank you! Virtual Reality Visions from Sci-Fi Movies/TV Series Jorge C. S. Cardoso | http://jorgecardoso.eu | jorgecardoso@dei.uc.pt Erasmus Mobility - Western Macedonia University, 2023