Jerzy Stachowicz
VR in Daily Life, or the Pressure of Imaginary Futures
In my intervention, I would like to begin with a glance at Virtual Reality as a component of imaginary futures, a term used by Richard Barbrook when describing the development of computers, robots and artificial intelligence.
According to Barbrook, a revolutionary technological change – one that would forever alter our daily life – has been constantly predicted since the late 1930s. Androids and robotic animals will evolve and become our genuine autonomic helpers, artificial intelligence indistinguishable from that of humans. A future thus imagined is not only projected from pages of science fiction novels; it is also present in sober analyses by sociologists and theoreticians of culture, marketing and media – and in everyday conversations.
The vision of such change assumes assorted forms, adjusting to social conversion, actual technological discoveries, market needs, etc. Invariably, the assorted sources estimate a timeframe of several or over ten-twelve years, whereupon an enormously dynamic technological and/or social variation is to be expected. Yet that variation continues to be late in coming – imaginary futures are yet to witness their moment of reality.
As the world of computers developed, the futuristic imaginarium has expanded to include virtual reality, ostensibly a “natural” consequence of the evolvement of computers, graphic interfaces, and artificial intelligence. William Gibson’s literary cyberpunk and such films as Tron or The Lawnmower Man have contributed to the process of disseminating visions of cyberspace. Are the incessant attempts at creating a universally accessible “VR for everyone” not an expression of science fiction-based determinism, as it were? Do we need such profoundly immersive experiences in daily life? Do imaginary futures comprise an actual political dimension? Or will VR forever remain a phenomenon fascinating and niche-focused in equal measure?
