Real Virtuality - Core Concepts

Core Concepts

Real Virtuality describes the potential for technology to become seamlessly integrated with the pre-existing world; technology becomes effectively invisible. Real virtuality demonstrates the degree to which technology and the internet have entered the tissue of society to the extent that there is no virtual reality to talk about; the virtual has become real in its consequences. As new technology develops, it does so in the context of pre-existing society, and therefore takes on some of the same characteristics. Things done in a virtual context, like finding a partner, and achieving a certain status in a video game, still mean something in the real world, because these online spaces have been so seamlessly integrated into our physical lives. The implications of real virtuality are the possibilities of having hundreds of computers in any given room, each performing a specific task. As put by Weiser, "No revolution in artificial intelligence is needed--just the proper imbedding of computers into the everday world".