Can We Have Our Virtual Reality Cake And Eat It Too?
This massive potential is why giants like Intel, Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Sony and Samsung are competing to dominate the field. Facebook alone has over 400 people working on VR, and an estimated 230 other companies are developing hardware and software.
Already, 75% of the Forbes World's Most Valuable Brands are starting to use either VR or AR for customers or employees, or are developing the technologies themselves, according to YouVisit, a company that helps brands engage consumers through interactive 360-degree experiences.
Research shows a 34% productivity increase for companies that adopt VR in the workplace. And profits are exploding, with mobile AR poised for a compound annual growth rate of 96% over the next five years.
This raises concerns in terms of what data is collected, how it's stored and protected, and who owns and controls it. Since many AR systems are expected to be mobile and always on — so people can constantly get extra information about their surroundings — bystanders and people in a crowd can also have their anonymity compromised.
since the Fourth Amendment is based upon a reasonable expectation of privacy, the way we use VR can have a real legal effect on our constitutional rights. The more we voluntarily share intimate details, the less legal protection we may have.
Consumers should demand that privacy technologies be built in tandem with VR technologies so that we get the maximum individual and societal benefit and minimize the burdens to businesses.
The industry should also take steps, like threat modeling and making platforms easily updatable to adapt to newfound challenges. This shouldn’t be a controversial move since manufacturers will want to build trust among consumers as they roll out these new technologies.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timsparapani/2017/08/16/can-we-have-our-virtual-reality-cake-and-eat-it-too/