In this blog post, we’ll explore the risks and questions that a perfect virtual world—like the one in ‘The Matrix’—poses to our society, including mental confusion, the collapse of morality, and the breakdown of human relationships.
The Rise of Virtual Reality and Our Response
3, 2, 1… Whoooosh— “Kwa-ka-ka-ka-ka!!!” “Dum-dum-dum-dum-dum, ping, pock, eek!” Expressions like these are likely familiar to many people. Everyone has probably played a computer combat game at least once. While older games still felt “like a game” in terms of graphics and responsiveness, today’s combat games are becoming increasingly realistic in their explosion sounds, character reactions, and depictions of damage.
In the past, a character wouldn’t die until their health bar was depleted several times, but today, getting shot in the head results in an “Headshot!” and instant death—the location of wounds and situational depictions are rendered to closely resemble real combat. Seeing how these games are becoming increasingly realistic makes one marvel at how far virtual reality technology has advanced.
However, we need to consider whether it’s right to simply accept these advancements with nothing but admiration. The Matrix featured in the movie ‘The Matrix’ is a virtual space virtually indistinguishable from reality, created by artificial intelligence, which traps humans within it to absorb their bioenergy and power machines. While this story is extreme, it prompts us to imagine the problems that a perfect virtual reality could bring.
Although the film’s premise is unrealistic compared to current technological levels, such an extreme example allows us to examine in advance the issues we must consider. We must reflect on whether more sophisticated virtual reality, when it eventually arrives, will benefit humanity or pose a threat.
Social and Ethical Issues Posed by Virtual Reality
First, the advancement of virtual reality technology can cause mental confusion by making it difficult for people to distinguish between the virtual world and the real world. The confusion experienced by the protagonist Neo in the movie when he escaped the Matrix and perceived reality dramatically illustrates this point. The realization that the world he believed to be real was actually fake causes psychological shock.
In fact, even with today’s level of technology, there are cases where people confuse the virtual world with reality, leading to problems. You may have seen news reports of gaming addicts attacking others for no reason or even resorting to self-harm. This can be viewed as a social problem arising from an inability to distinguish between violence in virtual space and behavior in the real world.
Some might counter that people who choose to live most of their lives in the virtual world would not experience such confusion. In other words, they argue that if the virtual world becomes a “substantial reality” based on an individual’s choice, that person would no longer experience confusion. However, this counterargument is based on the perception that the virtual world is identical to reality.
As pointed out in philosophical discussions, while it is an individual’s freedom to decide whether to surrender their self to the virtual world—much like a brain connected to a computer—people have clearly perceived reality up until that point. Therefore, even if one is fully immersed in the virtual world, as long as awareness of reality remains, the very perception of both worlds can cause confusion in an individual’s worldview.
Second, virtual reality carries a high risk of weakening a sense of responsibility and morality, reducing it to a mere venue for satisfying desires. Currently, in online spaces, many people hide behind anonymity to post malicious comments or engage in insults. This causes harm to many, and institutional solutions such as real-name registration systems have their limitations. Through this experience, we can surmise just how vulnerable the virtual world is to issues of morality and responsibility.
The virtual world gives people the feeling of being free from the laws and morals of reality. Desires that are difficult to fulfill in reality can be satisfied to one’s heart’s content in the virtual world, and there will inevitably be people who do not regard the laws and norms of that world as subject to real-world sanctions. Even if rules are established within the virtual world, some people may dismiss even those rules as merely “virtual rules” and evade responsibility.
Third, excessive obsession with virtual reality hinders the formation of normal human relationships. Real-world relationships are built on social status, personal dispositions, shared experiences, and a sense of responsibility. In contrast, in virtual reality, one can completely redefine oneself from start to finish and does not need to build on existing relationships.
This point could be interpreted positively—because it opens up possibilities for new human relationships. However, the problem lies in the fact that such relationships do not reflect social responsibility or a person’s true nature. In virtual spaces, it is easy to deceive oneself and project a dual identity, and relationships lacking responsibility cannot guarantee authenticity. Ultimately, people who find satisfaction in virtual relationships will struggle in real-life relationships.
Fourth, some people may abandon reality and become immersed in the virtual world. Cypher, the antagonist in ‘The Matrix’, is a character who, while facing reality head-on, chooses to return to a comfortable and pleasurable virtual world; he symbolizes humans who turn away from real-world responsibilities and opt for virtual comfort. In the virtual world, anyone can become rich and famous, and gain great satisfaction while avoiding the responsibilities and constraints of reality.
The “Pleasure Machine” thought experiment proposed by philosopher Norbert Spehmann clearly illustrates this problem. It posits that even if people were offered the chance to sit in a pleasure machine, continuously experience the highest level of pleasure, and die without any pain, they would reject the offer. This is because the purpose of life is not merely the acquisition of pleasure, but rather living a reality where pain and pleasure coexist; it is through pain that self-preservation and the pursuit of meaning become possible.
Therefore, abandoning reality for the sake of pleasure and escaping into a virtual world is an act that sacrifices the very essence of our lives. This represents a reversal of values—making pleasure the goal of life while abandoning the instinct for self-preservation and the will to seek truth—and is an attitude that must be fundamentally guarded against.
In conclusion, while the advancement of virtual reality technology is noteworthy as a technical achievement, its application and widespread adoption require careful philosophical and ethical consideration. The mental confusion that arises when the boundary between the virtual and the real becomes blurred—along with the weakening of morality and responsibility, the insincerity in human relationships, and the danger of pursuing pleasure as an escape from reality—goes beyond mere technical issues to affect the very survival and values of society as a whole.
Therefore, rather than uncritically embracing virtual reality technology, we must regulate its development, deliberate on norms, and design responsible usage at both the individual and societal levels. Technology itself is not evil, but when it is indiscriminately accepted without reflection on how it will be used, the consequences can pose a threat to humanity.
Virtual Reality and Creativity: The Case of ‘The Matrix’
In the movie ‘The Matrix’, there is a scene where the protagonist, Neo, learns martial arts by having a martial arts program uploaded directly into his brain with just a few seconds of loading time. This scene provides an extreme illustration of how specific abilities can be acquired in a virtual reality environment. While it would be a stretch to generalize a setting like ‘The Matrix’ to the entire future of virtual reality in the real world, it is clear that, in whatever form, abilities and skills will be acquired in virtual worlds in ways different from those in reality.
Since the implementation of virtual reality ultimately depends on computer capabilities, its operating principles are based on algorithms and programming languages. Consequently, it is highly likely that many human behaviors and skills realized in the virtual world will inevitably be expressed as code written in a programming language and operated according to computer algorithms. But can all of humanity’s actual behaviors and creative outputs be perfectly described and executed simply through programs?
Humans are not like machines. They go beyond simply reproducing acquired knowledge; they think and apply it on their own, introducing new concepts to produce creative results. Even if those results are not always the most rational or efficient, the products of human creativity hold sufficient value in that they are the result of new knowledge or integrative thinking across different bodies of knowledge.
Virtual reality systems are designed to operate according to the programs inputted into them. If a user cannot consistently generate exceptional, abstract, or creative outputs, the system may regard them as errors. Therefore, the way virtual reality operates carries the risk of restricting human free thought and creative experimentation.
Of course, in reality, there are cases where difficult problems are solved through high-speed computer calculations. However, we must not mistake these achievements for “creativity” on the part of the computer. Computers merely execute commands based on given inputs and algorithms; they do not interject their own private thoughts or intentions. It is an important point to note that even today’s highly advanced computers and robots have failed to produce truly creative results beyond their inputs.
Ultimately, virtual reality implemented by computers cannot help but limit human thought, and in that sense, it has the potential to act as a shackle that stifles human creativity.
The Negative Impacts of Virtual Reality Technology and the Need for Caution
We have examined the potential negative impacts that virtual reality technology may have on humans. It has the potential to cause social and ethical problems, such as blurring the distinction between the virtual and the real, leading to mental confusion; triggering a breakdown of responsibility and morality; and fostering abnormal human relationships.
Furthermore, some people may abandon reality and seek to settle into the virtual world, which could lead to a decline in creative activities and participation in the real world. Ultimately, there is a risk that human creativity and independent thinking will be hindered by the constraints of the virtual world.
Therefore, we need to exercise caution regarding virtual reality technology. While virtual reality technology, implemented at an appropriate level, can certainly make human life more convenient and be useful in various fields, as users of virtual reality, we must clearly recognize its negative aspects. If these negative aspects cannot be addressed, we must exercise the utmost restraint regarding the indiscriminate development of virtual reality technology. Otherwise, just like the many people in ‘The Matrix’ who were exploited without knowing the truth, we may find ourselves addicted to the poison of virtual reality and silently decline before we even realize it.
