Philosopher Says Virtual Worlds Will Replace Physical Reality In Future

Are the good days of living in the material coming to an end? If metaverse ambitions are realised with help from virtual reality, humanity may lose interest in the physical world, a philosopher recently claimed.

Writing in his new book "Reality+", David Chalmers says humanity should start embracing virtual reality. Yep, he's basically urging all of us to be okay with the sight of people flapping their arms away in public spaces with a giant headset covering their eyes.

Chalmers, a professor of philosophy and neural science at New York University told The Guardian that the virtual worlds may soon become better than our physical world. "The material world may lose its allure", he said.

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How digital worlds compare to real world

According to Chalmers' predictions, technology would reach a point wherein the virtual and physical worlds would sensorily create the same response among human beings. Essentially, the pursuit of good life could shift from the physical to the virtual. (We can't help but think of Black Mirror's cautionary episode called "Men Against Fire")

To those who question the realness of virtual reality, Chalmers says that "virtual reality is genuine reality", adding that virtual worlds may offer the same degree of reality as our physical worlds.

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Also read: US FDA Has Approved Use Of Virtual Reality For Treating Chronic Pain

Of course, we wouldn't have to wear the heavy headsets forever. Eventually, the VR tech would primarily depend on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) - yep, like the one Elon Musk's Neuralink is developing which will begin testing as early as this year.

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He predicts, that in the future, "it's possible to imagine people spending most of their lives inside virtual reality." The thrill of VR would be that it would offer people "superhuman powers, possess other bodies, experience new sensations, and explore environments with different laws of physics", he told The Guardian.

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

Are you going to embrace virtual reality as it comes or prefer to live in the physical world? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Sample, I. (2022, January 17). ¡®Virtual reality is genuine reality¡¯ so embrace it, says US philosopher. The Guardian.