Predictions

          

            Over the past weekend, I saw a movie that made me do a lot of thinking regarding our future with technology. The movie was Ready Player One; it is Steven Spielberg’s most recent foray into the science fiction and adventure genre. You can watch the trailer here. Forewarning, there are possible spoilers ahead for the movie; read at your own risk.

The basic concept of the movie is that real life has become so drab and depressing that most of the population hides inside of an MMOSG (massively multiplayer online simulation game). Everyone connects via a pair of virtual reality gloves and headset; if the user has money, they can also wear a full bodysuit that makes the user feel (in real life) the sensations you perceive in the virtual world. Real-world currency works in the virtual world of Ready Player One just like it does in reality. One of the more unique elements of the story is that when your avatar dies in the virtual world, you lose everything you’ve ever worked for; in both the virtual and real world. With applications such as Apple Pay, we already have our banking information saved to our devices where we can pay for anything with the push of a button. Mix that with the current controversy of micro-transactions in video games, and I predict that it’s only a matter of time before financial accounts are synchronized to virtual avatars and will determine our success and ruin us if we fail. 

We already see companies like HTC and Oculus diving headfirst into the virtual reality market, companies like Sony are incorporating virtual reality into their gaming system and games. Also, companies like Microsoft are also incorporating virtual reality into their latest software, so clearly, virtual reality has come a long way in the past five years than it has at any point in the past. The question is, how much will we let it control our lives if things keep progressing the way they do in the world.         

   One flaw in the idea of virtual reality is, even though the visuals have improved tremendously; we cannot stay in the virtual world long. Actor and screenwriter Simon Pegg (who is also in Ready Player One) mentions in an interview with Stephen Colbert (at the 6:18 mark) that currently, people get sick while playing virtual reality games too long. The reason for this being, if you perceive movement but your body is stationary, the human brain believes it has been poisoned. In Ready Player One, the player uses a treadmill that keeps them in place, while allowing them to run around freely in the virtual world. Today, there are already companies who are developing treadmill systems very similar to the ones seen in Ready Player One. Virtuix Omni is one company that is at the forefront of this kind of technology; you can see a demonstration here and the promotional trailer for the product here.

            In short, the technology in Ready Player One is closer to science reality instead of science fiction. Indeed, much of the technology seen in the film is available today; just in an imperfect form. The question is, how long until this technology becomes standard like televisions and cell phones? Only time will tell.