Bullies will soon TORTURE their victims in virtual reality, experts warn
Heartless tormentors set to use cutting edge technology to run high-tech harassment campaigns
The kids of tomorrow will be 'TORTURED' by bullies whilst they are plugged into virtual reality.
That's the warning from top think tank the Institute of Ideas, which is about to hold a seminar about whether VR should be "policed".
It is about to gather together consultants and researchers to discuss how to keep computerised alternative realities safe.
In a statement, the Institute wrote: "Concerns about how social codes and morals may no longer hold in virtual reality worlds, where the participants are physically immersed in digital scenarios – where they can move, touch, hear, see and even smell – have been heightened with the launch last month of the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift VR headset in the UK.
Related Stories
"Fears about violent pornography, the ability to virtually ‘torture’ others and the severing of social ties in the ‘real’ world have all been voiced."
Institute director Claire Fox, the thinker who introduced us to Generation Snowflake in her book , will host the discussion at the .
"The argument about the need to regulate the digital space has to be weighed against freedom of expression in our society, whether we are interacting in a virtual world or in the real world where we have the growth of so-called ‘safe spaces’," said Fox, who is director of the festival.
"We also need to balance the risks of VR with the real benefits from training surgeons to the potential benefits already being explored for those suffering from paralysis and Parkinson’s disease as well as the huge opportunities in a range of fields from transport to entertainment and the arts."
The Battle of Ideas features 100 sessions and 400 speakers. It takes place on October 22 and 23 October 2016 at The Barbican in London.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368