Researchers working in a specialized area of computer technology are beginning to develop sophisticated mechanisms called "virtual reality" simulators. These devices would allow a person to enter very persuasive three-dimensional environments that could be created and controlled electronically, either by the user or through a predetermined computer program. As a news article in The Boston Globe explained, there are expectations that eventually"... people at home in their living room will be able to step into a sensor-wired body suit, strap on a computer-linked headset, and dial themselves into almost any 'virtual reality' their heart desires." The Boston Globe, July 28, 1988, p. 65
Obviously there could be practical applications. The Globe article points to business conferences, for example, that could be held with the participants all appearing to be sitting in the same conference room, interacting as though they were each actually present, while the individuals might in fact be thousands of miles apart. (There could even be family "reunions" with none of the family members needing to come home!) Right now, as a training device for space exploration, NASA is already using headsets and specially wired gloves that give the astronauts the sense of literally being in space, using their own hands to operate simulated tools in the simulated reality.
Yet there's an admitted downside to this whole issue. As one researcher, quoted in the Globe article, unabashedly proclaims: "In a sense it's the ultimate drug. The '60s and taking acid were nothing. This has the potential to be that, but much, much more." Another researcher states: "The kinds of worlds you could build might be much more interesting or exciting than the physical world." The Globe goes on, however, to voice one scientist's concern "that if the technology does become widely available, users could become deeply hooked, withdrawing into the exotic thrills of 'virtual reality1 entertainment."
