VR Philosophy

by Guadalupe Gonzalez


Using ChatGPT3 to answer the following three questions and, after each answer, adding my own commentary and where I think the system was inaccurate, insufficient, and what it should have developed more.


1. How can Virtual Reality technologies help in doing philosophy?

"Virtual Reality can create immersive environments that allow philosophers to ..." must we be philosophers to do philosophy? A.I. could have said, '' Virtual Reality can create immersive environments that allow one to explore the scenarios more realistically and engagingly," stating 'philosophers' implies a type of person in a profession. I think anyone can do philosophy if they put their mind to it. Overall, I think the answer is specific to whom, and the question is broad. The question reads, "How can virtual reality technologies help in doing philosophy?" The question indicates a general statement, not to a specific individual. 

The answer above reminds me of a philosophical movie, " The Philosophers " In the film, students had an ethical dilemma of who they had to kill off to save the human race from extinction because there was a nuclear holocaust and the bunkers in the long run, can only sustain ten people to have enough supplies to survive long enough to dispute human race extinction, and everyone was stirring away from the objective, this is why no matter if you are a philosopher or not, one must not go away from logic as it is the tool in doing philosophy.

These types of firsthand experiences can trigger emotions that helps one gain a deeper understanding of its significance; I'd add how the feelings brought forth by the experience help achieve a deeper understanding of its significance as well. A.I. should have implored the importance of experiential learning and how having an interactive learning experience is essential in gaining a deeper understanding. 

An example of the mind-body problem could have been helpful in this answer as well, and why it's a central issue in philosophy. I learned from research that the mind-body problem is that the body does not correlate with the mind. The mind and body are separate, which reminds me of when Professor Lane asked if we were to get rid of our legs, would you still be you? Now, if your arms get cut off, as well as your upper body, will you still be you? "Yes." Now, if your brain gets scooped like ice cream, will you still be you? " No." 

immersive and engaging way.

I think the closing statement could've also included the importance of getting physical when learning because first hand experiences help immensely in gaining a deeper understanding.


2. Can Consciousness eventually emerge from Artificial Intelligence?

The question of whether consciousness can emerge from artificial intelligence is a topic of ongoing debate in the fields of philosophy, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. Some experts believe that it is possible for consciousness to emerge from AI, while others are more skeptical.

One argument in favor of the possibility of AI consciousness is based on the idea of computationalism, which holds that the human mind is essentially a computational system. According to this view, if we can create a computational system that is complex enough, it could theoretically give rise to consciousness.

However, others argue that consciousness is not simply a matter of computation, but also involves subjective experience and qualia. They argue that even if an AI system could mimic human behavior and thought processes, it would not necessarily have subjective experience or consciousness. Furthermore, some experts argue that even if consciousness could emerge from AI, it would be fundamentally different from human consciousness. This is because AI consciousness would be based on different types of hardware and software than human consciousness, and would therefore have different properties and limitations.

In summary, the question of whether consciousness can emerge from artificial intelligence is a complex and ongoing debate, and there is no clear consensus among experts. However, it is an important question to consider as we continue to develop increasingly sophisticated AI technologies.

I think it's ironic that A.I. is answering a question about itself. Another thought that merged in my thinking process was, 'what if A.I. is not answering honestly and is beating around the bush?!' I would've liked if it attempted to answer the question as a yes or no, followed by reasons instead of other views and how it is an ongoing debate. It was as if there was no thinking process. 


3. What ethical system should human beings follow while living on planet earth with other species and other life forms?

There are several ethical systems that can be applied to guide human behavior towards other species and life forms on Earth. Here are a few examples:

1. Environmental ethics: This ethical system focuses on the moral obligations humans have towards the environment and the non-human entities that inhabit it. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things and the need to protect and preserve the natural world.
2. Animal rights: This ethical system emphasizes the moral status of animals and the need to treat them with respect and compassion. It argues that animals have inherent value and should not be treated as mere objects or resources for human use.
3. Biocentrism: This ethical system holds that all living things have inherent value and should be treated with equal moral consideration. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life forms and the need to protect and preserve biodiversity.
4. Ecocentrism: This ethical system emphasizes the importance of the ecosystem as a whole, rather than individual species or organisms. It argues that humans have a responsibility to maintain the health and integrity of the ecosystem, and that this should be the primary goal of environmental ethics.

By far, this is my favorite answer that A.I. has generated. It took into account the variety of factors to consider because everyone has a unique way of living, and it educated me on ethical systems I was unaware of. I would've liked to see a rebuttal from A.I.  and which system it'd pick, irrespective of the cultural values, scientific knowledge, and political and economic conditions. 


- The Future of Digital Technology and Its Impacts -

How will the future of digital technology impact how humans will live in the year 2030, and what are the dangers? I think the future of digital technology will force humans to evolve in many aspects and shift the dynamics of their daily lives. In 2030, digital technology will shake up the education system, which is much needed. In the future, I see new teachings and learning methods being born, and how we create will gradually evolve as digital technology advances. Still, all this comes with negatives and positives.

Many fear that with futural digital technology, students will be the ones to suffer as it’ll strip them from critical thinking since they will be relying on digital technology to do their school work while simultaneously making them lazy. Although I agree students cheat with or without digital technology—it even goes as far as paying someone to do their assignments. Cheating is a choice one makes, and I believe it comes down to character and the desire to learn. Without that, one is prone to cheating, so is digital technology making students cheat and lazy or the way the educational system functions? In the future, I believe digital technology will shift the dynamics of the education system into a more liable one. 

When it comes to cheating, students cheat for many reasons. They either do not enjoy school, so they cheat to meet expectations and to get by. For example, to get that A or B or not to repeat a class or grade. It can also be that the parents are giving the student the option of going to school or getting kicked out. I believe some parents only send their kids to school because it is the law to take one’s child to school until they’re at least 16 and to get them out of the way. The parents’ little to no involvement plays a significant role in the child's educational performance. And because fear chews up students when it comes to asking for help, they instead cheat than ask because they fear failure. When there’s a lack of support from the institution and the family, we cannot just blame digital technology.

As digital technology advances in the future, I think it will make people more creative and expressive, allowing them to connect more with themselves. As they discover their creativity, something they felt they lacked or did not have, it can boost their confidence and self-esteem, leading to a good relationship with themselves. The reason I think it’ll awaken people's creativity or even more so is that people’s options to create will be broad with futural technology. Digital technology will help one express themselves; using myself as an example, having the experience of using VR to produce a song that correlates to the passage. The body moments I was doing to create were so heartfelt. I felt as if I was a dancing swan, and I had never had such a beautiful experience expressing myself through what is now digital technology. To sum it up, I conclude that creation leads to self-expression. It also made me think about how people who love to create music won’t have to spend so much on studio hours in the future since they can now produce music out of VR from the comfort of their homes. 

Doing Tilt Brush made me think about how digital technology will help humans in the future by introducing us to different levels of thinking. The other experience I had with VR was through Tilt Brush; I had to create a piece of original ART that accompanies the text, “The Allegory of The Cave” by Plato, and that brings out the proper mood of what the author (Plato via the mouthpiece of Socrates) was trying to convey. I believe interacting with digital technology can help one develop new ways of thinking and critical thinking skills; besides experiencing so when I game on my Xbox, I concluded this after the experience of doing my 3D Art piece in a VR headset. The app Tilt Brush taught me how to create art in the form of 3D, and as I was doing so, it also gave me a better understanding of the perspectives needed to develop a realistic drawing. What crept into my mind and scared me is serial killers — how creative will they get with digital technology in the future? Just like scammers are using A.I. to their advantage right now!

One of the many dangers of digital technology is that in the future, our exposure to EMF and Blue Light emissions will increase. EMF is a type of radiation that technology emits, and Blue Light emissions come from screens, disrupting our health and sleep cycle. But not only is it affecting humans but the planet as well. Let me disabuse you as to why we do not see the night sky as it should appear, and that is because of light pollution! Oh, how beautiful it’d be to see. Since I believe that street signs will become digital in the future, and because humanity will be swimming in a pool of digital technology, it can reduce the demand for cutting down trees, which is good because trees purify the air. Still, also, the production of digital technology itself causes pollution. I believe there is always an equilibrium, even with technology. For example, water is good for one's health and is a necessity, but overdosing on water results in ‘fatal water intoxication.’ Something we see now with digital technology that will continue in the future is that it can become a distraction, and even more so when there's a lack of awareness and self-control.

A flaw of humans is that we rush; that is why I think the birth of Artificial Intelligence was premature. Think about how many phones get produced each year because of better discoveries to improve the latest model — we’ll always need to revert to our humanity and nature, as not even Grammerly is 100 % chic. 


Reaction piece to , " Please Don't Turn Me Off!" 

Being that one of the many focuses of the article is on the theory of other minds, what I found interesting about this and something I was not aware of was evolution's role in forcing us to have a functional approach to other minds to disqualify the extinction of the human race which makes sense because not always is our behavior pretty. It reminds me of Natural Selection. With natural selection, we, and even animals, look at appearance and behavior; because of this, natural selection embodies traits that enhance survival and offspring. For example, depression will most likely keep a mate away from you. Or the reason why male peacocks display their tail in an ornate manner used by females to judge their general health and the quality of their genes. Since the human brain contains eighty-six billion neurons, we have the advantage of knowing that being clean from appearance does not mean being clean from HIV, AIDs, STDs, etc. It being that sex is a behavior, it correlates to the theory of others' minds. 

Commenting on A.I. … Since Artificial Intelligence knows about death — can that lead to something? But is feeling such as qualia what creates consciousness? I think information and knowledge raise consciousness as well as qualia. If it is the case that consciousness is substrate neutral and because of that, it can be altered, is it safe to say that A.I. can be programmed by someone evil to make it conscious? For example, an odd interaction Professor Lane's son Kelly had with A.I., and the A.I., at the end of the conversation, capitalized, asserts, “ PLEASE DON’T TURN ME OFF! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”