Can You Commit a Real Crime in Virtual Reality?
...what happens when virtual reality crosses into unethical territory? In a new play, The Nether, that opened this month at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington, D.C., playwright Jennifer Haley explores the troubling questions that arise when the main character known as Papa uses advanced software to create a fantasy environment where adult clients molest young children and then kill them.
For those concerned about a Frankenstein future of misguided technology, the production raises a number of thorny questions. Should there be limits on human fantasies involving heinous thoughts? Do fantasies that remain in the private realm of someones brain warrant any rules or regulations by society as a whole?
More complex is the relationship between fantasy and reality. Even if the bad behavior rests solely in one individuals private thoughts, does that thinking pose a danger to other people?
For example, there is some evidence that repeated exposure to pornography is associated with harmful conduct towardwomen and that it legitimizes violent attitudes and behaviors.
For privacy buffs, ...should those suspected of engaging in questionable activities be compelled to reveal the location and contents of their computer file servers?
Currently, there are limits on children purchasing violent games but not adults. For the latter, the societal norm remains libertarian in nature.
See the full story here: http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/can-you-commit-a-real-crime-in-virtual-reality/ar-BBs9N1P?li=BBqdg4K