Immersive Storytelling Symposium @ Parsons School of Design
I am never a techy kind of person, especially around virtual reality (VR). I always feel that the technology is still immature (also very uncomfortable for glasses people like me) and is something that's only going to be "hot" for a little while until the gamers lose interests and move on to the next big thing. After attending this symposium I have completely changed my perception towards VR and the impact it may be able to bring to this world, depending on how we utilize the technology.
A couple of key takeaways from the symposium:
- VR as empathy machine
Do the socially vulnerable groups who we say we should have empathy for really want our empathy? or what they want is actually action and change?
Can we say we know how the refugees feel just by watching a documentary about them in VR? Something to noodle on ...
- "Technology isn't the hard part, knowing what to do with it is."
What rules and regulations should there be for the use of VR? Should shooting people in a VR game be okay? Should we be focusing on developing the technology so that people can experience things that they can already experience in real life, say, touching a butterfly or being on a beach drinking a cocktail, or can we use the technology to create larger and more meaningful impact that we couldn't achieve without VR?
- Organizations reference
PETLab
NYC Media Lab
The Empathy Lab
KG Projects
You Visit
Quote of the week
"GOOD INNOVATIONS SOLVE PROBLEMS THAT FORMERLY HAD ONLY INADEQUATE SOLUTIONS, OR NO SOLUTION."
- Know Your Customers' "Jobs to be Done" HBR article by C. Christensen, T. Hall, K. Dillon, and D. Duncan