Experiences - Real vs. Virtual

A question about one's preference between a real and a virtual experience would perhaps sound rhetorical to many of us. If you were to ask me, I would not only give a loud cheer to a real experience in most cases but also a strong no to the virtual. My immediate reaction would be accompanied by a question, for if it is virtual, does it even count as an experience. 

Today, I caught myself contradicting my own belief here when I found myself enjoying watching a hiking video online. As much I love being in the mountains, I prefer hiking during the summer months only. But interestingly and to my pleasant surprise, I recognized how I derived a great sense of joy even enjoying it vicariously by watching that well directed video. In my defense, I can say that it is not completely virtual since I have been on actual hikes too. So, in some ways, the online video was nostalgic, more than just virtual? Perhaps. 

As another example, I do enjoy (and lean towards!) watching Mt. Everest summit or even base camp documentary than attempt it myself. But again, to defend my advocacy for real experiences, I would say that  for the adventures and experiences within my threshold, my mantra would always be - go real. Mt. Everest is not within that scope for me. 

Reflecting on these examples brought further clarity on how I perceive the boundaries of technology, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and not to forget the popular phenomenon of ChatGPT these days. 

In my opinion, all these advancements are a testament to human potential, curiosity, and ingenuity and hold tremendous value for supporting and offloading tasks from human's lap to machines. But are there areas where humans will remain irreplaceable? I believe the answer is yes and my claim rests on the following two grounds. 

I believe that these technological advancements are indispensable in the realm of tasks and convenience but what about the emotional quotient? 

Even if we speculate that in the future one can have meaningful, emotional conversations with machines, would we want that? The idea is scary to me. If I don't even know whether it is a "human with a soul" or a robot on the other side, would I even want to initiate a conversation in the first place? 

Second, again tied to the emotional factor and experience, the machine can perform a task for you. Consider asking ChatGPT to write a personalized birthday wish for someone dear to you. It can do that brilliantly. The words and message would read very well. But will it hold your thoughts and feelings? What about the joy we get from penning a heartfelt note vs. the ready-to-use one that you will get from a piece of software? There's a unique, inherent value in the concern and effort one puts in towards something vs. a machine telling us what to do. Think about birthday reminders on social media. I am not against the idea. It is a convenience for sure but think about what it means to care enough and make an effort to remember the date on your own. 

More than anything and anyone else, I believe paying attention to these differences would help us cultivate a deeper understanding and clarity on where the boundaries between these technologies and a human lie for "us". And where "we" as individuals are headed. In my opinion, it is rather subjective. There is no universal conclusion. The advancements in technology and growing popularity of virtual reality and artificial intelligence are bridging the gap and challenging this debate. With virtual reality, we are aiming to create more and more richer immersive experiences, which despite being an illusion "feels" very real. And the question is - can we spot the difference and boundaries?

Will be happy to hear your thoughts. 

-- Dippy