Just like the written word, just like video, and it all depends on what we do with it. The thing to remember is that VR is a medium. He and I have published papers together and we talk a lot about VR as a tool to make people better, for collaboration and expression. Recently he said the digital “hive mind” threatens to lead us into “social catastrophe.” Which is right? When I interviewed Jaron Lanier, the pioneer of VR, two decades ago, he was ecstatic about its potential.
When National Geographic caught up with him by phone from Stanford, Bailenson explained how VR is now being used to raise awareness about climate change, help quarterbacks memorize plays for the NFL, and even help first 9/11 responders suffering from PTSD. But in his new book, VR: Experience On Demand, Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Virtual Human Interactive Lab at Stanford University, insists that VR is at last coming of age, with new applications from conservation to the treatment of PTSD. Most of these have proved to be hype and VR remained little more than a fad, popular with video gamers. Since tech wizard Jaron Lanier made virtual reality popular in the 1990s, many claims have been made about its transformative power.
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