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.