Virtual Reality, The Law, The Future

The law, as is often the case, tends to be reactive, not proactive. This actually makes sense. There would be no need to legislate for a ‘what if’ situation. If legislators were proactive and legislated in such a fashion then there simply would not be enough hours in the day nor legislators in the world to cover any eventuality.

We are in rapidly changing times. Mainly due to the internet and the opportunities it has opened up around the world. I often write articles whereby I discuss the need for legislation concerning the blockchain, digital currency and the like and also smart contracts. However, there is a much more ‘real’ scenario which is on the scene and has been for sometime but due to the massive advances in technological expertise, it could be a game changer for the whole world.

I am talking about virtual reality (VR). I am sure we have all seen science fiction films where virtual reality comes into play but this is no longer a dream, it is no longer science fiction, it is reality. Many of the online games are heading towards virtual reality and the benefits to business are obvious.

Imaging sitting in your living room having a video conference with an important client in China. You are both plugged into your VR machines so what you actually see is your client, sitting in front of you, at a desk in an office. Your client sees you in the same office, sitting at the same desk. Clever indeed and it has obvious benefits way over and above the capabilities of say, skype or similar video conferencing technology.

Let’s look at it another way. Online dating, a massive industry. Imagine if you could take your online date to a virtual bar and sit and chat to them. You drink together, chat together, laugh together. Amazing!

However, lets us now consider the law. What happens if during that virtual meeting with your date, you were to virtually insult the date. If you were to (god forbid) try to assault your date.

They would be seeing what you are doing and visa versa so the potential for such technology to be used in a sinister way does of course exist. But the point I am making is, would that assault amount to a crime which is punishable under existing laws.

The whole point of virtual reality is to make the experience as real as possible. No doubt, one day it will be so real that it will be akin to real life. A scary yet exciting thought. At that stage, will VR be legislated? Will crimes that exist in real life, exist under VR. Of course, some crimes simply would not. It would not be possible for example to actually hurt someone, murder someone etc using VR but it would be possible to scare someone, make them feel threatened, make them feel as if they had been subjected to unwanted sexual advances etc.

How about from a business perspective. Will a contract agreed under VR be enforceable under existing legislation (after all, an oral contract is as binding as a written contract and the only issue is evidencing what was said). Will all VR activity be held on a server. Will the American Government hack into VR’s backdoor to see what people are discussing in private? The questions are endless.

Now, I do not proclaim to be an expert in VR. Many people will understand the technology way better than I could ever hope to but at this stage, as with the blockchain, digital currency, smart contracts etc, the truth is, no one really knows what is going to happen. Only time will tell and with time will no doubt come the legislators, the rule makers, the regulators and the governments who seek to retain some form of control over what the lesser mortals are doing (I am not anti government btw but any government seeks to control its citizens in order for democracy and governance to work).

I am sure in the weeks, months and years to come, VR will become something that is a part of life that we all have no idea how we lived without it. The discussions and debates on this are and will continue to be, fascinating for anyone who has an eye on technology and the future.

I am sure Google will of course be the front runner, buying up any serious VR companies and then gaining a monopoly on the market. In fact, when I think about it, Google are fast becoming the worldwide Government of the internet. Perhaps with VR will come AI and Google will take over the whole world.