Matrix For Cows: Rancher 'Traps' Cows In Metaverse To Improve Milk Production

The metaverse(s) may be too inclusive for their own good. From making video games more realistic to turning digital marketplaces into more "real" spaces, companies making their own metaverses are racing to get there first.

Now, cows in Turkey have received a metaverse of their own. Why, you wonder? To keep feeding humans with their milk (of course, they don't really get to choose). A rancher in Turkey has begun equipping his cows with virtual reality headsets to assess if cows deliver more milk for human consumption when fed an idyllic lie.

Essentially, it's no surprise that all animals including human beings perform better in environments that are more naturally pleasant. While the positive results are a good sign for humans, the experiment sheds light on how depressing metaverse could be.

Zekeriya Karadavut / Anadolu Agency

How's metaverse working out for cows?

Reported by Turkish news outlet Anadolu Ajansi, the future-ready cows are owned by a rancher named Izzet Kocak from Aksaray, Turkey. During severe winters, cattle are forced to stay indoors. Using virtual reality, Kocak tricked his cows into thinking they're on a green pasture.

Zekeriya Karadavut / Anadolu Agency

According to Kotaku, the virtual reality headsets were first tested in Russia before being shipped to Turkey. It appears that vets were involved in the entire process to ensure cows remain safe.

Also read: Woman Claims She Was Groped In Facebook's Metaverse 'Horizon Worlds'

In the two cows using VR, milk output has gone up from 22 litres to 27 litres each day. It gives them an "emotional boost", Kocak was quoted by Kotaku as saying. Now, he wants to expand the experiment by buying more VR glasses for his cows. "They are less stressed", he says. To be fair, if humans were manipulated to believe that climate change isn't real and that everything is hunky dory by a different species, we might believe it too.

Zekeriya Karadavut / Anadolu Agency

Also read: Facebook Meta's Mark Zuckerberg Highlights India's Role In Future Of Metaverse

What do you think - is it ethical to trap cows in a metaverse? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Zwiezen, Z. (2022, January 11). The Metaverse Is Already Here For Cows And It¡¯s Very Sad. Kotaku.

Coleman, L. (2022, January 6). Cows cooped up for winter fitted with virtual reality goggles ¡ª so they think they¡¯re outside. . . The Sun.