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[chinasyndrome]

I just watched an interesting program called Nexus http://www.abcasiapacific.com/nexus that had a segment about the future of virtual reality (VR). Here is a brief background of what was discussed.

Jaron Lanier is at the forefront of VR software and technology design. Ray Kurzweil was described as the father/inventor and innovator of VR. Both spoke of the next generation of the net, which they call Internet 2 and which will be thousands of times faster and bigger than what we currently use. Both say that by no later than 2010 there will be a workable, flexible and fully integrated technology that will not be clunky (which is how they describe even the best net technology of today).

They and others are talking about the next generation of VR which they call Tele Immersion (TI) and which will, they say, go way beyond 'simple' 3-D holographs and good graphic design. They are talking of lightweight pressure suits with millions of receptors that can emulate the 5 basic senses, although how the suit or software can emulate our sense of smell is beyond me. They contend that after spending a few minutes in the suit and the virtual world you are in it will be quite easy to trick the mind into accepting the virtual as real (suspension of disbelief).

The cost/price of the technology and hardware to support it will, they say, be relatively small because it will to a high degree ride off the back of existing technologies. Coupled with this, Kurzweil made the point that it is porn and other 'adult' sites that financially thrive in and drive the Internet, so he sees them as being the natural or at least original drivers of spreading the TI word. His personal interests are in trans-gender and trans-personality TI. Others being interviewed talked about being able to experience virtual death or creation, amongst other things.

It made me wonder if the world of TI may be physically dangerous. Would your program and potentially your pressure suit be open to virus attack? Could your suit crush you to death? How would it feel to take a virtual bullet in the chest? Would the ability to go trans-gender or trans-personality create more clarity by allowing you to explore your own mind and motivations or will it lead to greater confusion and personal identity problems?

Weighty considerations. It's hard to imagine that in only 7 years what we now consider to be hi-tech could come to be seen as quaint and clunky. A virtual eslcafe? Hmmm. I can see a few virtual fistfights in that idea. What got me thinking and wondering is the effects the Internet 2 will have on teaching, not only languages, but all teaching. Assuming the cost of I2 and TI is comparatively small, why would you bother with school or hiring teachers when a virtual program, perhaps shared by a whole class as well as individual study, is available?

Time to get your pension plan and retraining in place? What really intrigued me about this program was the certainty they expressed on the timeframe, cost, infrastructure and availability. Scientists and futurists and usually quite general in their comments and when they do hazard a guess it is usually followed by so many qualifications they may as well have just said 'I don't know'.

Just as CD was the beginning of the next disk revolution, to shortly be augmented by VCD (which was interim technology on the way to DVD), it appears that TI is the bridge to the scientist's goal of hardware/software implants in the brain and/or nervous system. Benefits and disadvantages of a TI classroom? What say you?

Serious comments welcome. Other comments such as 'in a TI classroom in Korea no little turds can stab you in the arse with a pencil/pen/finger' are also welcome.

[AlexW]