Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality are still in their infancy. As such many individuals and organizations have questions on how these new technologies can be used to improve the way they work, communicate, play and even heal.
As an evangelist for these technologies I get to hear a lot of these questions in person. They can range from "How do we help ease people phobias with VR" to "How can AR make it easier to train off-shore oil rig workers". The possibilities for the technology are seemingly endless and that leads us to the heart of this article.
Recently I had an event participant ask me the following question:
"Assuming we advance to the point where there is no difference between reality and virtual reality could you replace prisons with VR worlds where inmates could be rehabilitated?"
My response was somewhat canned but only because it's based in the truth (as I know it) - which is, we simply don't know much about the effects of long-term exposure to virtual environments. Very few studies have been conducted on how VR effects our brains and bodies.
But the question peeked my interest and I decided to explorer it a bit further.
Virtual Reality in Prisons Today
We are a long way off from a completely immersive "Matrix" like virtual reality environment. So before we jump into the hypothetical let's talk about some of the way's VR is being used in prisons today.
Education:
Nearly 85 percent of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime. More than 60 percent of all inmates are functionally illiterate. Source
So, it should come as no surprise that those working towards improving literacy in prison are founding companies built around immersive training. VR education allows individuals to experience what they are learning in completely new ways. For example, several VR rehab companies offers virtual field trips, taking inmates to places they otherwise could not go. Others are taking this a step further by creating live streaming 360 degree environments meaning inmates can visit a place in real time such as collage classes or workshops where they can earn credit or accreditation. Example
Job Training:
Along with educational programming, Virtual Reality provides prisons with a low-cost solution for training inmates in a wide-variety of fields. A single VR station can load an unlimited number of job training courses and can be paired with on-site job opportunities. Want to train an inmate in how to use tools in a workshop before they start working in the shop - simply load up the app in VR.
What about the Future?
In the next few years VR educational and job training content will mature and I have no doubt we will see these tools in prisons, collages, and fortune 500 companies all over the world (AR + Mixed Reality might out do VR in many applications).
As for the far future, 20 - 30 years from now when we have advanced simulated realty, well that's hard to say. Author, Journalist and Entrepreneur Shane Snow wrote a thought experiment on this very subject How Soylent and Oculus Could Fix The Prison System (A Thought Experiment). He looks at it with existing technology but it's easy to expound out in to the future and imagine what future prison system could look like.
Depending on how far we go with the technology here are a few out-there Ideas I could see becoming a reality in-regards to VR and simulated prisons. It's easy to imagine a world in which a three year prison sentence could be experienced by the end user in 1 year or a rehabilitation program could see an inmate living in a true to life virtual world where they are given a home, job and an education.
Of course, many of these speculative concepts don't take into account the moral implications of imprisoning someone in a virtual world. What we do know is we will be faced with lots of changes as VR, AR and Mixed Reality evolve and to that end we should start asking big questions now.
What are some of the questions that come to your mind when you think about VR, AR and Mixed Reality?
Note: What if is a op ed style exploration of topics I find interesting. This is my first attempt at writing a series and I am sure I will have to make some improvements.