We all know Virtual Reality as a staple in the gaming industry to play games in another (virtual) world and interact with the objects within. That premise will not change anytime soon, but Virtual Reality still has untapped potential to uncover. This blog post will discuss such potential which has been uncovered recently with VR, revisiting your passed loved ones.
The goal of the VR technology is to effectively find closure with your loved ones that have passed away. First introduced in a Korean Series called “Meeting you” in 2020, the virtual world generates a virtual avatar of your loved one, which look and sound strikingly similar using Deepfake technology. In addition, through sensory gloves, you are also able to interact and “feel” with the avatar in the program. Although not available for commercial use yet, initiatives and companies focused on therapy or grief therapy specifically have shown interest to make it happen widely available in the future (Brockwell, 2020).
Although the advancement in VR to make this possible is a milestone in itself, people do link ethical constraints with seeing “people” who are deceased, and whether it effectively works as grief therapy. Indeed, the term “Technical resurrection” has people speculating whether the deceased should be “resurrected” in VR to find closure. Others speculate and observe that, virtual reality is still in its early development stages, and cannot be used a medium for grief therapy. In addition, it might even damage the grieving process (Brockwell, 2020). Jong-Woo Kim, the producer and director of Meeting you, does indicate that due to technological and budget constaints, the VR program is scripted, not based on interactive elements (Kim, 2020)
Although the current constraints with the VR technology does introduce limitations, it does seem to work to find closure. As a Korean mother stated seeing her deceased child in the VR world: “I think I’ve had the dream I’ve always wanted” (Meek, 2020).
What do you think? Should VR be used as (grief) therapy and be used as “Technical resurrection”? Or do you think that it should not be commercialized at all?
References
Brockwell, H. (2020). I long to see my dead dad – but I’m unsure virtual reality’s the answer. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/virtual-reality-dead-relatives-daughter-mother-deepfake-black-mirror-a9332501.html [Accessed 4 Oct. 2021].
Kim, V. (2020). The Uncanniness of Watching a Grieving Mother and Her Dead Daughter Meet in VR. [online] Slate Magazine. Available at: https://slate.com/technology/2020/05/meeting-you-virtual-reality-documentary-mbc.html [Accessed 4 Oct. 2021].
Meek, A. (2020). If you could use VR to see a dead loved one again one more time, would you want to? [online] BGR. Available at: https://bgr.com/tech/vr-headset-grieving-mother-meets-dead-daughter-again/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2021].
Hi Sverre,
Thank you for the captivated blog you have written. This topic reminds me of my friend who has used VR technology for his work meetings to fight loneliness in times of working at home during and after the pandemic. Now, your blog has caught my attention how the VR technology is being applied to another societal issue. Grief is very personal, and people feel something different every time which refers to the stages you mentioned. The feelings could take several weeks or years. In my humble opinion if you want to move on with life after you have lost your dearly beloved, using VR technology as therapy might be helpful for many people to get closure. Furthermore, I think that early adopters are more willing to gain such experience (the feeling of getting closure) based on their beliefs. It starts with a small group, but the same one where VR technology may be useful for them. From that point it could be discussed if the usage of VR technology should be commercialized.