Electronic Empathy
26 July 2016 | Lights of Soho, London, UK
Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) promises to put the viewer in someone else’s body or mind. As an ‘embodiment system’ IVR might be said to be the only alternative method of communication that has the potential to effectively generate new levels of empathy.
Virtual Reality (VR) has a long history of use for medical and therapeutic purposes, in experiments in body visualisation, and ‘perspective-taking.’ Now the increasing affordability of consumer VR headsets means that there is an opportunity to experiment en-masse with experiences that take individuals into new subjective realities.
The scientific legitimacy of these projects is largely driven by the discovery of mirror neurons in the human brain which might be key to understanding how effective empathy-simulating technologies really are. In addition, studies on how individuals interact within an immersive virtual reality often reveal realistic responses to virtual situations. The two key phenomena that allow for this are: the feeling of ‘being there’ or ‘place Illusion’ (PI) and plausibility illusion (Psi) – the illusion that the scenario being depicted is actually occurring. These subjective illusions suggest IVR might be highly effective in therapy and for the treatment of trauma. But it leaves a question mark over whether IVR might also be inversely effective in inflicting pain or even false memory.
How realistic are an individual’s responses to IVR? What is the current evidence and data to support the use of IVR in clinical settings? How can IVR aid our understanding of mental health? How credible are IVR scenarios when compared to the viewer’s expectations?
Panelists
Christian Cherene, BeAnother Lab/ A Machine to be Another (@beanotherlab)
BeAnotherLab is an interdisciplinary multinational group dedicated to understanding, communicating and expanding subjective experience; focusing their work in understanding the relationship between identity and empathy from an embodied perspective. Since 2012 the group uses virtual reality and techniques derived from cognitive science in developing innovative applications in art, scientific research, social projects, healthcare and education, putting a strong emphasis in the impact of our work in people’s lives. Their work is based on an inclusive distributed model of action-research and collaborative design methods. They hold collaborations across multiple countries, disciplines and institutions.
The group works in the intersection between art, science and technology, questioning hierarchies between these different ways of knowing. It approaches them as complementary, overlapping bodies of knowledge instead. The group is committed to inventing new models of collaboration and sustainability, not based on individuals, but rather on the idea of sharing and expanding identities.
Jane Gauntlett, In My Shoes Project (@JaneGauntlett)
Jane is an artist and producer, she designs interactive experiences. In 2011 Jane founded the In My Shoes Project, In My Shoes is an empathy project, it is an ever expanding library of interactive experiences which use story, theatre, audio-visual technology, virtual reality and first person documentary to recreate real-life experiences. Participants are invited to step into the shoes of a stranger, to see the world through their eyes, hear their thoughts, touch, taste and smell everything as they do, just for a few minutes. As a fusion of documentary, education and theatre, In My Shoes has been exhibited at international theatres (Roundhouse; Brighton Basement; Battersea Arts Centre), festivals (Aspen Ideas Festival, London Design Festival, Thames Festival), hospitals (University College London & Bath Hospital), universities (UK: University College London, King’s College London, Central St Martins, City University, U.S: New York Academy of Medicine, New York University, institutions (UK: Parliament, US: United Nations Headquarters) and international conferences.
Dr. Julia Shaw, Senior Lecturer, Department of Law and Social Sciences, London South Bank University (@DrJuliaShaw)
Dr Julia Shaw is a senior lecturer at London South Bank University and author of “The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting, and the Science of False Memory”, a book offering an in-depth exploration of how our memories can fail us and what it means for our sense of identity. The book is currently available in the UK and will be translated into 13 languages in 2016. Her research aims to prevent miscarriages of justice by investigating rich false memories, false confessions, and police interviewing. In addition to her teaching and research, she consults as an expert on criminal cases, and delivers police-training and military workshops.
Dr. Sylvia Xueni Pan, Goldsmiths University (@panxueni)
Sylvia Xueni Pan is a Lecturer in Computing, Goldsmiths, University of London. She received a BSc in Computer Science at Beihang University, Beijing, China in 2004, an MSc in Vision, Imaging and Virtual Environments at University College London (UCL), UK in 2005, and a PhD in Virtual Reality at UCL in 2009. Before joining Goldsmiths in 2015, She worked as a research associate in Computer Science, UCL, and in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL, where she remains an honorary research fellow.
Over the past 10 years she developed a unique interdisciplinary research profile with journal and conference publications in both VR technology and social neuroscience. Her work has been featured multiple times in the media, including BBC Horizon and the New Scientist magazine.
Luke Robert Mason, Director of Virtual Futures (Moderator) (@LukeRobertMason)