By Annmarie Ciacciarelli and Allie Amato Telepresence & Ethics By Annmarie Ciacciarelli and Allie Amato

“This chapter is about the promise of telepresence- how telepresence illusions are and may soon be used in nearly all aspects of our lives for good, and the peril of telepresence- the potential for unethical and harmful uses of the power of telepresence illusions in our everyday lives”

Defining Telepresence "A psychological state or subjective perception in which even though part or all of an individual's current experience is generated by and/or filtered through human-made technology, part or all of the individual's perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of the technology in the experience." - International Society for Presence Research (2000) “Promise” of Telepresence (In a broad sense,) is to improve every aspect of our lives

Dimensions of Telepresence 1 Technology as Invisible Technology as “living” social entity "realistic" virtual environment, one that corresponds perceptually and socially to our non mediated experiences the technology (e.g., a computer, virtual pet, robot or android) seems to be an independent, "living" social entity.

The Promise of Telepresence Concerning the Topics of... The Promise of Telepresence Entertainment Business Education Relationships Health (And the peril of telepresence)

Entertainment Promise Perils Enriches our lives IMAX technology; puts you “there” CGI; creates the illusion of presence Wii/Kinect; interactivity with peripheral devices AR; enhances ordinary objects with superimposed imagery Just because we can doesn’t mean we should Reproduction of non-mediated experiences; amplify traditional dangers and create new ones Allow problematic usage Autotune; blurs the lines of reality “Mind Control”

Business Promise Perils Benefits to advertisers and consumers Cisco TelePresence Meeting Solution; saves energy and costs of travel Google Earth; altered tourism industry and how we “visit” places Architectural tools; closer to accurate mock-ups Takes society some steps backward Cisco Virtual meetings; lose subtle social cues, important in business New media literacy; must reteach ourselves in the new world of advertising

Education Promise Perils We as humans learn by doing Virtual learning environments; connect classrooms Simulator tools; train without risk (firefighters, military combat, surgery) The Immersive Education Initiative; increasingly common and critical Is information technology truly unlimited? Inaccurate representations and information; unrealistic options like “reset” or “repeat” High Presence Military games; could desensitize “player” in real combat

Relationships Promise Perils We can create new forms of connection Video chat; bring us closer in touch from far away Presence Frames/Slumber light; subtle cues of presence Nintendogs/Furby; virtual pets we might otherwise not be able to have We must think about the “social ramifications that accompany the allowed uses of such technologies.” Dystopian views; not much research but worth consideration Artificial “comfort”; potentially stunt natural human development

Health Promise Perils Lightening the burden of healthcare Virtual reality enhanced work-out machines; encourage exercise Telerobotic technology; provides presence of a specialized doctor Virtual installations; provide relief during treatment Taking care of our health dominates our lives Artificial caretakers; helpful for elderly but potentially confusing for them Sophisticated prostheses/neurotheses; provide MORE than typical human experience

Fictional Example - Black Mirror