
Fantasies of Virtual Reality
Untangling Fiction, Fact, and Threat
MIT Press
Published on 10. September 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
184 pages
978-0-262-54916-5 (ISBN)
Description
The fantasies that underpin common perceptions of Virtual Reality and what we need to know about VR s potential risks as well as its opportunities. Virtual Reality is the next new frontier for Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg, who has overseen Meta s investment of billions into VR, pitches it as the next dominant computing paradigm. More than just a gaming technology, VR is top of mind for academics, tech reportage, and industry evangelists who all see the potential for VR to revolutionize fields such as education, and health, as well as the way we work and communicate. But will VR achieve all this? In Fantasies of Virtual Reality, Marcus Carter and Ben Egliston strip bare the tech industry s vision of a future dominated by immersive VR experiences, challenging the utopian promises of this technology's potential. Carter and Egliston offer a critical account of VR in a variety of contexts, from gaming to human resources to policing and the military. They argue that while VR does hold significant potential, the overhyped expectations surrounding it, from achieving true empathetic understanding to transforming traditional education and office work, are often overstated and fraught with issues of privacy, control, and exclusion. What s more, there is nothing truly virtual about Virtual Reality: VR is deeply entrenched in the material world, driven by tangible technological, economic, and social logics. An accessible introduction to this emerging technology, Fantasies of Virtual Reality is essential reading for anyone interested in what VR can really do and what is just plain fantasy.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge (Massachusetts)
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
12 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUS.
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
226 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-54916-5 (9780262549165)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2024
MIT Press
€28.99
Available for download
Persons
Marcus Carter is Professor in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Sydney and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. He is the author of Treacherous Play and Fifty Years of Dungeons & Dragons (both MIT Press). Ben Egliston is Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney and an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow.
Content
Contents
1 Fantasizing about Virtual Reality
2 Fantasies of Gaming
3 Fantasies of Empathy
4 Fantasies of Enclosure
5 Fantasies of Violence
6 Fantasies of Perfect Data
7 Our Fantasy
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
1 Fantasizing about Virtual Reality
2 Fantasies of Gaming
3 Fantasies of Empathy
4 Fantasies of Enclosure
5 Fantasies of Violence
6 Fantasies of Perfect Data
7 Our Fantasy
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index