From: mark@cs.ualberta.ca (Mark Green)
Subject: Re: Mayhem in VR: rape, murder and pornography?
Date: 	Mon, 26 Aug 1991 13:40:30 -0600
Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada



In article <1991Aug26.070458.14391@milton.u.washington.edu>, strength@milton.u.washington.edu (Julian Bleecker) writes:

> In article <1991Aug22.062134.17740@marlin.jcu.edu.au> btajt@marlin.jcu.edu.
> au (Alex Thomas) writes:
> 
> >My collegue and I would like to get some sort of feedback
> >on our shared concern regarding the concepts of murder
> >and rape in virtual reality.
> >
> >Any ideas spring to mind ?
> 
> Why concern yourself particularly with VR?  Consider a broad range of
> VR-like technologies:  Television, Radio, Video Games, Hollywood Movies...
> My concern is that this thread will start a flamers paradise to the
> detriment of the VR work in progress.  These are issues that definitely
> need to be considered, (and i spend a good bit of my time at the HITLab
> considering them) but not by cornering one technology.
> Julian

While we might like to ignore this issue, since most of the researchers
in this area are well aware of the limitations and possible uses of
the technology.  It is something we should address, for the following
two reasons:

1) Every reporter that has called me to discuss VR (at least one a week)
   mentions virtual sex.  It is the only question that has been asked
   by every reporter that has talked to me.  I even have a stack of
   newspaper clippings talking about the virtual sex research that is
   being done here (I have told every reporter that has contacted us
   that we AREN'T working on this, but virtual sex sells more papers)
   The press, at least in Canada, is not very responsible when it
   comes to science reporting, so we must be ready for these
   misrepresentations of our research and the positive and negative
   affects it may have on our research funding (anybody know if Playboy
   funds VR research?).

2) About 3 or 4 years ago every researcher working on the computer
   animation of human bodies was contacted by the office of a
   member of the US congress.  The concern was that we would produce
   animation techniques that were good enough to realistically
   animate the president of the US, and thus be able to take over
   the world.  Their plan was to pass a bill that would make research
   in human animation illegal in the US.  Yes, this is a true story.