Early experiments suggest that using this data to manipulate users is well within the means of those who control virtual and augmented reality platforms. Researchers have demonstrated that people immersed in VR can be influenced in a number of ways — from causing them to make more environmentally conscious choices to affecting the results of tests for racial bias. But with no laws restricting what kinds of behavioral data consumer VR companies can collect and how it can be used, the door has been left open for more nefarious and profit-seeking applications.
For example, in a 2014 paper on the convergence of VR and online social networks like Facebook, researchers at Dublin City University propose that AI-controlled avatars could be used to “nudge” users into accepting certain ideas or views. “An avatar might respond with a smile if asked about one political or religious idea, and frown when discussing another,” the researchers write. “Artificial avatars would be all the more effective if they can access data about the user’s emotional responses via eye-tracking or emotion capture.”
See the full story here: https://theintercept.com/2016/12/23/virtual-reality-allows-the-most-detailed-intimate-digital-surveillance-yet/