Feds Spend $1,788,748 on Virtual Reality Game for Young Gay Men
speaks on stage during TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2018 at Treptow Arena on November 30, 2018 in Berlin, Germany.
The National Institutes of Health is spending over $1.7 million on a virtual reality game for young men who have sex with men.
"Tough Talks" is a virtual simulation that allows young gay men to practice how to tell their partner they have HIV, using virtual reality technology. A technology training company—Georgia-based Virtually Better, Inc.—as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies are creating the game.
Sixty-seven percent of young gay men do not disclose their HIV status to first-time sex partners, according to the grant behind the study. Researchers see virtual reality as a solution.
The virtual characters were given conversational skills that are "culturally sensitive to a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds and sexual identities."
The characters are able to display a wide range of emotions, including "anger, fear, rejection, blame, ignorance, curiosity, confusion, support, concern, sympathy, empathy, acceptance, [and] love."
See the full story here: https://freebeacon.com/issues/feds-spend-1788748-on-virtual-reality-game-for-young-gay-men/