Suggestion has been used for a long time by pseudo-psychics, hypnotism, and other form of magicians. Regardless of some straight-out frauds, this is telling of the way our mind interprets perceptions does not conform to a deterministic way people sometimes try to see their ‘reasoning’.
An important factor on most of the explored means of tapping into suggestion was interaction with other person (the hypnotist). Authority plays a major role in this. As human communication is more and more mediated by technology, would our perception of authority be migrating as well? One may see a big data miracle if amazon guess someone is pregnant by her shopping history, but take for granted if a local pharmacist do so?
Would empathy, hand-in-hand with suggestion and authority, be migrating to be mediated by virtual reality?
Not surprisingly, as businesses get the taste of the market potential of this shift, here is a new batch of articles on the matter. Too many in this trendy topic to pick one, sorry.
“Inside the Empathy Machine: VR, Neuroscience, Race and Journalism” by Joel Beeson at Media Shift.
“NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell steps into virtual reality at Stanford lab” by Bjorn Carey
“The Limits of Virtual Reality: Debugging the Empathy Machine” by Ainsley Sutherland from MIT
“The Future of Empathy-Generating Virtual Reality Is Here” by Bill Desowitz
“How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine” – TED Talk with Chris Milk
“CAN VIRTUAL REALITY MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON?” by Stern Strategy Group
“Is It Really So Bad If We Prefer Virtual Reality to Reality?” by Sveta McShane