so first off I’d like to know how many
of you have had a virtual reality
experience Wow
so I’ve been doing talks on VR for about
a year and each time I give one the
amount of hands that goes up raise it so
much more and this is this is you guys
are definitely winning now how many
people would consider themselves
empathic okay that’s always a funny
question to get asked isn’t it it’s
almost like being asked if you’re nice
do you have to say yes I I think I’m
nice and you’re hesitant to raise your
hand I’m going to talk today about the
relationship between virtual reality and
empathy and don’t worry if you didn’t
raise your hand right away we’re all
empathic this is not something that
you’re born with or not it’s not a
personality trait and there is much that
VR can do to help bring it out in each
of us couple of years ago I was at my
annual social impact conference and I
came across a virtual reality demo booth
I was planning to walk by even though
I’m a social scientist who studies how
emerging tech affects behavior I really
wasn’t ready for this I knew that VR was
intense I knew that if it was scary or
sad I was gonna leave there in a crying
mess and hand back one of these nice
expensive headsets with mascara all
cooped up in there but then I saw this
question hanging over the booth can be
our trigger empathy well now they have
me empathy is my worldview and it is
also the framework that I use for my
research again I didn’t ask what the
experience was because that could give
me a chance to back out walk away so I
just sat down I let them put the headset
on and I was transported to a Syrian
refugee camp listening to Sidra a
twelve-year-old girl talk about what
life is like when you suddenly find
yourself ripped from your country your
culture and everything you know the film
is by within and I’d like to show you a
bit of it
my mother makes sure we are all together
there were a lot of Tears
and I definitely gave it back Oh crusted
with mascara this had a profound effect
on me
the feeling that I got first what hit me
first was sameness we are all the same I
have an 11 year old daughter and this
could have been her could have been our
life and I sat on the ground in that
tent and I stood next to the kids while
they played soccer and I had a real
experience that I couldn’t have
otherwise had before and VR gave that to
me
I felt that VR was going to be the most
profound technology I’d ever work on
immersive storytelling is not new
traditionally or technically there are
many giants who paved the way for us in
Native American culture
they’ve regarded storytelling and this
idea of being a storyteller as a craft
and it’s a revered position that you
don’t get to do unless you’re someone
who can make your audience believe that
they’re in it and technically we can
fast forward from the 1800s
to the 1990s gaming industry where now
we’ve got computer-generated
environments and they’re letting us walk
around shooting things but we’re in some
pretty giant headsets and we’re tethered
to a lot of machinery don’t you wish
these would come back this is amazing
everyone should get a chance to wear a
TV on our head clouds over Sidra it’s
not this it’s 360 video now you may know
the difference you may not this is an
experienced VR crowd you might not have
been thinking of clouds over Sidra as we
are when you first saw the film when you
are in a headset and you’re watching 360
video you can see all around you you’re
seeing what’s in the actual environment
so you’re right that it is not virtual
in terms of its real footage it’s real
people but it’s immersive in ways that
humans have not been exposed to before
now VR can do that today because we have
a vastly improved sense of presence in
the technology presence is the mind body
trick that happens where our brains
count a virtual experience as if it was
a real one or a lived one and you all
know what this feels like at this point
we have these nice small even though
some people think these are huge they’re
getting smaller by the moment so these
are cheaper they’re more accessible and
really at this point all you need is
about a hundred bucks and a smartphone
and you can have a pretty good
experience in VR the answer is
definitely yes to that original question
that I came across VR does trigger
empathy and what else can it be doing to
us as social beings do you think it
could change your actions or your
behavior these are some of the things
I’m interested in as a researcher you
may have heard that the world is in a
bit of a political crisis lately anyone
whether you believe we’re becoming more
divided as a global culture or you could
think that we’re becoming more empowered
that’s on the table too
but we can all agree that what we show
in the media today has reached this
crazy level of sensationalism it’s
certainly happening here in the UK and
it’s happening in America here we are in
the u.s. just have to have a look across
the top and you get the point
president Mexicans women bad sexist this
used to be really funny when these
things came out we you know all of my
friends and colleagues would laugh about
all these tweets it’s not as funny now
that they’re coming true some of the
things he says are coming to fruition
but the point being that this is how
Google buckets the now-famous quotes and
tweets from our president so now if you
can imagine experiencing some of today’s
news in VR where we feel presence and it
gets really interesting
immersive journalism is the thing now
news giants like the New York Times
starting to present some of their things
in 360 if you can imagine for a moment
being dropped into the middle of the
scene because that’s the effect that 360
has and your brain is living the
assassination of the Russian ambassador
or of Joe Cox as she stabbed in the
street or you could be rushing out on
the field
with your team when they win the World
Cup or you could be here on a beach in
Turkey next to this three old boy who
didn’t quite make it so this is viral
coverage of our global refugee crisis
this is normal news today we see these
kind of things all the time what can we
do with all this emotional response
because VR is raising our heart rates
when we’re in it and it’s engaging us in
in these ways that we haven’t been fully
engaged before and I thought how can we
use this for social good let me give you
an example that might not seem likely at
the beginning but you’ll get it by the
end from the presidential election which
is now considered our most controversial
in history in America on the night I
followed Twitter CNN and Facebook and on
Twitter what I was finding was an
incredible amount of bashing hate speech
people just trying to get the last word
Facebook sent me into a near panic
because I was listening to States being
called for Trump or Clinton and the text
feeds and the emojis that were going by
were so offensive it was angry face
angry face anger face floating by with
words to match and I felt this
unleashing of people that I can only
describe as the opposite of empathy now
let me show you what was going on in VR
at the same time this is alt space VR
decision night in America continues
today conceded the presidential election
to President Truman
so this is a virtual reality platform so
you are in a headset that’s on the web
so it’s kind of like you’re a spot on
the web you can go there to create an
event attend an event like this one they
also had the debates going on here
things you can do in the space you can
message each other
you can talk in real-time audio you can
do virtual high-fives and fist pumps
handshakes hugs and you can show how
you’re feeling with emojis so all of
space VR teamed up with NBC News and
there you see another news giant getting
into VR to create this virtual democracy
Plaza that’s what you see here you might
even recognize it if you’ve been to New
York City this is Rockefeller Center
it’s a pretty amazing computer
generation version here it looks exactly
like that
unlike in very sharp contrast to what
was going on in this harsh Twitter party
this was different there are thousands
of people from over 150 countries here
coming together to view this election as
a group it was like a global election
party in your living room
but it’s virtual it’s amazing so it’s
not that people were holding back
opinions here and not sharing they were
certainly passionate about it you can
check and see how this felt I wanted to
give you a sense of how it felt to be in
this space
there’s obviously someone sharing an
opinion there and people gathered around
to hear what he has to say there’s some
emojis going up agreement I assume
hearts and hand clapping this avatar on
the front is raising a hand so they
would like to speak next feels more
alive right you can have nonverbal
expressions here as well I I don’t know
what that is
I think it’s excitement I’m not sure
there’s not a tone of aggression here
there’s a tone of respect and there’s a
willingness to listen to people who you
know are going to have differing
opinions from you so why why was this
happening what was so different about VR
that night than these other social media
covering the same event the same exact
time well it goes back to presents this
idea of being there it doesn’t matter
what you’ve chosen to be or who you’ve
chosen to be in this environment you can
be an androgynous curlicue avatar like
you see here in fact we don’t know the
gender of most of these till they speak
if they do speak you can be a robot or
you can be a humanoid with regular
clothes and a face and maybe a little
bit more identity to yourself but the
cool thing is that none of that matters
what matters is that you’re there and
you have chosen this environment because
you find it enriching to be an in
exchange you’re interacting in VR the
environment itself sets us up for
empathy and because we’re in an
interaction we don’t say inflammatory
things that we would never say to
someone’s face I realize I’m in their
virtual phase this is real lots of other
VR experiences that you can have that
will take you far beyond this in terms
of empathy and perspective taking like
walking in someone else’s shoes you can
swap out your body you can spend time as
another race gender you can be homeless
hungry disabled 80 years old we haven’t
had that kind of experience available to
us before and I think it’s a great force
toward togetherness so my mind often
comes back to Sidra in fact I’ve been
carting my headset around showing the
experience to people and recording their
reactions so as far as the so what did
it do anything can we say that this film
had any reaction did it change some of
these action or behavior I don’t know
yet but one 13 year old boy gave me a
glimpse into what I might find you got
back in touch with me to say that a
refugee fan
came to his school around Christmastime
and the point was for the students to
meet face to face this family that they
were sponsoring for clothing and food
and such and he said he kept thinking
about the school at the camp where Sidra
was and how she’d been there almost two
years and he wondered would this boy
ever see his country again so he asked
to play soccer with him they did that
weather turned cold
they still got together they’re kind of
close in age these boys and now they do
homework just hang out play games and
offer friendship this was over a year
after he’d seen the film – Meowth –
direct shot that’s empathy – action so
ultimately the choice is ours
you hold the key we hold the key to VRS
power this can be an amazing vehicle to
help us deepen our understanding of each
other and technology can help us be more
human it can do that so it’s up to us to
use it for the social good thank you
[Applause]
of you have had a virtual reality
experience Wow
so I’ve been doing talks on VR for about
a year and each time I give one the
amount of hands that goes up raise it so
much more and this is this is you guys
are definitely winning now how many
people would consider themselves
empathic okay that’s always a funny
question to get asked isn’t it it’s
almost like being asked if you’re nice
do you have to say yes I I think I’m
nice and you’re hesitant to raise your
hand I’m going to talk today about the
relationship between virtual reality and
empathy and don’t worry if you didn’t
raise your hand right away we’re all
empathic this is not something that
you’re born with or not it’s not a
personality trait and there is much that
VR can do to help bring it out in each
of us couple of years ago I was at my
annual social impact conference and I
came across a virtual reality demo booth
I was planning to walk by even though
I’m a social scientist who studies how
emerging tech affects behavior I really
wasn’t ready for this I knew that VR was
intense I knew that if it was scary or
sad I was gonna leave there in a crying
mess and hand back one of these nice
expensive headsets with mascara all
cooped up in there but then I saw this
question hanging over the booth can be
our trigger empathy well now they have
me empathy is my worldview and it is
also the framework that I use for my
research again I didn’t ask what the
experience was because that could give
me a chance to back out walk away so I
just sat down I let them put the headset
on and I was transported to a Syrian
refugee camp listening to Sidra a
twelve-year-old girl talk about what
life is like when you suddenly find
yourself ripped from your country your
culture and everything you know the film
is by within and I’d like to show you a
bit of it
my mother makes sure we are all together
there were a lot of Tears
and I definitely gave it back Oh crusted
with mascara this had a profound effect
on me
the feeling that I got first what hit me
first was sameness we are all the same I
have an 11 year old daughter and this
could have been her could have been our
life and I sat on the ground in that
tent and I stood next to the kids while
they played soccer and I had a real
experience that I couldn’t have
otherwise had before and VR gave that to
me
I felt that VR was going to be the most
profound technology I’d ever work on
immersive storytelling is not new
traditionally or technically there are
many giants who paved the way for us in
Native American culture
they’ve regarded storytelling and this
idea of being a storyteller as a craft
and it’s a revered position that you
don’t get to do unless you’re someone
who can make your audience believe that
they’re in it and technically we can
fast forward from the 1800s
to the 1990s gaming industry where now
we’ve got computer-generated
environments and they’re letting us walk
around shooting things but we’re in some
pretty giant headsets and we’re tethered
to a lot of machinery don’t you wish
these would come back this is amazing
everyone should get a chance to wear a
TV on our head clouds over Sidra it’s
not this it’s 360 video now you may know
the difference you may not this is an
experienced VR crowd you might not have
been thinking of clouds over Sidra as we
are when you first saw the film when you
are in a headset and you’re watching 360
video you can see all around you you’re
seeing what’s in the actual environment
so you’re right that it is not virtual
in terms of its real footage it’s real
people but it’s immersive in ways that
humans have not been exposed to before
now VR can do that today because we have
a vastly improved sense of presence in
the technology presence is the mind body
trick that happens where our brains
count a virtual experience as if it was
a real one or a lived one and you all
know what this feels like at this point
we have these nice small even though
some people think these are huge they’re
getting smaller by the moment so these
are cheaper they’re more accessible and
really at this point all you need is
about a hundred bucks and a smartphone
and you can have a pretty good
experience in VR the answer is
definitely yes to that original question
that I came across VR does trigger
empathy and what else can it be doing to
us as social beings do you think it
could change your actions or your
behavior these are some of the things
I’m interested in as a researcher you
may have heard that the world is in a
bit of a political crisis lately anyone
whether you believe we’re becoming more
divided as a global culture or you could
think that we’re becoming more empowered
that’s on the table too
but we can all agree that what we show
in the media today has reached this
crazy level of sensationalism it’s
certainly happening here in the UK and
it’s happening in America here we are in
the u.s. just have to have a look across
the top and you get the point
president Mexicans women bad sexist this
used to be really funny when these
things came out we you know all of my
friends and colleagues would laugh about
all these tweets it’s not as funny now
that they’re coming true some of the
things he says are coming to fruition
but the point being that this is how
Google buckets the now-famous quotes and
tweets from our president so now if you
can imagine experiencing some of today’s
news in VR where we feel presence and it
gets really interesting
immersive journalism is the thing now
news giants like the New York Times
starting to present some of their things
in 360 if you can imagine for a moment
being dropped into the middle of the
scene because that’s the effect that 360
has and your brain is living the
assassination of the Russian ambassador
or of Joe Cox as she stabbed in the
street or you could be rushing out on
the field
with your team when they win the World
Cup or you could be here on a beach in
Turkey next to this three old boy who
didn’t quite make it so this is viral
coverage of our global refugee crisis
this is normal news today we see these
kind of things all the time what can we
do with all this emotional response
because VR is raising our heart rates
when we’re in it and it’s engaging us in
in these ways that we haven’t been fully
engaged before and I thought how can we
use this for social good let me give you
an example that might not seem likely at
the beginning but you’ll get it by the
end from the presidential election which
is now considered our most controversial
in history in America on the night I
followed Twitter CNN and Facebook and on
Twitter what I was finding was an
incredible amount of bashing hate speech
people just trying to get the last word
Facebook sent me into a near panic
because I was listening to States being
called for Trump or Clinton and the text
feeds and the emojis that were going by
were so offensive it was angry face
angry face anger face floating by with
words to match and I felt this
unleashing of people that I can only
describe as the opposite of empathy now
let me show you what was going on in VR
at the same time this is alt space VR
decision night in America continues
today conceded the presidential election
to President Truman
so this is a virtual reality platform so
you are in a headset that’s on the web
so it’s kind of like you’re a spot on
the web you can go there to create an
event attend an event like this one they
also had the debates going on here
things you can do in the space you can
message each other
you can talk in real-time audio you can
do virtual high-fives and fist pumps
handshakes hugs and you can show how
you’re feeling with emojis so all of
space VR teamed up with NBC News and
there you see another news giant getting
into VR to create this virtual democracy
Plaza that’s what you see here you might
even recognize it if you’ve been to New
York City this is Rockefeller Center
it’s a pretty amazing computer
generation version here it looks exactly
like that
unlike in very sharp contrast to what
was going on in this harsh Twitter party
this was different there are thousands
of people from over 150 countries here
coming together to view this election as
a group it was like a global election
party in your living room
but it’s virtual it’s amazing so it’s
not that people were holding back
opinions here and not sharing they were
certainly passionate about it you can
check and see how this felt I wanted to
give you a sense of how it felt to be in
this space
there’s obviously someone sharing an
opinion there and people gathered around
to hear what he has to say there’s some
emojis going up agreement I assume
hearts and hand clapping this avatar on
the front is raising a hand so they
would like to speak next feels more
alive right you can have nonverbal
expressions here as well I I don’t know
what that is
I think it’s excitement I’m not sure
there’s not a tone of aggression here
there’s a tone of respect and there’s a
willingness to listen to people who you
know are going to have differing
opinions from you so why why was this
happening what was so different about VR
that night than these other social media
covering the same event the same exact
time well it goes back to presents this
idea of being there it doesn’t matter
what you’ve chosen to be or who you’ve
chosen to be in this environment you can
be an androgynous curlicue avatar like
you see here in fact we don’t know the
gender of most of these till they speak
if they do speak you can be a robot or
you can be a humanoid with regular
clothes and a face and maybe a little
bit more identity to yourself but the
cool thing is that none of that matters
what matters is that you’re there and
you have chosen this environment because
you find it enriching to be an in
exchange you’re interacting in VR the
environment itself sets us up for
empathy and because we’re in an
interaction we don’t say inflammatory
things that we would never say to
someone’s face I realize I’m in their
virtual phase this is real lots of other
VR experiences that you can have that
will take you far beyond this in terms
of empathy and perspective taking like
walking in someone else’s shoes you can
swap out your body you can spend time as
another race gender you can be homeless
hungry disabled 80 years old we haven’t
had that kind of experience available to
us before and I think it’s a great force
toward togetherness so my mind often
comes back to Sidra in fact I’ve been
carting my headset around showing the
experience to people and recording their
reactions so as far as the so what did
it do anything can we say that this film
had any reaction did it change some of
these action or behavior I don’t know
yet but one 13 year old boy gave me a
glimpse into what I might find you got
back in touch with me to say that a
refugee fan
came to his school around Christmastime
and the point was for the students to
meet face to face this family that they
were sponsoring for clothing and food
and such and he said he kept thinking
about the school at the camp where Sidra
was and how she’d been there almost two
years and he wondered would this boy
ever see his country again so he asked
to play soccer with him they did that
weather turned cold
they still got together they’re kind of
close in age these boys and now they do
homework just hang out play games and
offer friendship this was over a year
after he’d seen the film – Meowth –
direct shot that’s empathy – action so
ultimately the choice is ours
you hold the key we hold the key to VRS
power this can be an amazing vehicle to
help us deepen our understanding of each
other and technology can help us be more
human it can do that so it’s up to us to
use it for the social good thank you
[Applause]
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