Howard Rheingold, who has speculated about some ways in which VR technologies may impact the future of social relationships, raises an interesting question involving teledildonics (or simulated relations at a distance). Though not yet a marketable technology, recent work in interactive tactile presence (or touch feedback) will, Rheingold believes, make it possible for computer users to have relations at a distance. Inviting us to imagine this not-too-distant phenomenon, Rheingold asks us to picture ourselves “dressing for a night out in the virtual village,” where people wear a “cybersuit” made of “smart skin.”

Week 5 Scenarios
Complete both scenarios.

Your answer for each should be 500 to 750 words and properly conform to APA Guidelines.

Scenario 1

Howard Rheingold, who has speculated about some ways in which VR technologies may impact the future of social relationships, raises an interesting question involving teledildonics (or simulated relations at a distance). Though not yet a marketable technology, recent work in interactive tactile presence (or touch feedback) will, Rheingold believes, make it possible for computer users to have relations at a distance. Inviting us to imagine this not-too-distant phenomenon, Rheingold asks us to picture ourselves “dressing for a night out in the virtual village,” where people wear a “cybersuit” made of “smart skin.”

Even if Rheingold’s account turns out to be cyberfiction, it is difficult to avoid considering the implications that teledildonics-related technology could have for future social relationships.

Assess these implications in Rheingold’s scenario by applying some of the techniques introduced in Section 11.2.2 (page 301 of Chapter 11) for analyzing ethical issues in virtual environments.

Scenario 2

Your Aunt Elda, who is 89 years old and lives on her own in a small apartment, is in declining health. She is at the point where she will soon need full-time professional assistance/care, but she is unable to afford the cost of live-in help. Unfortunately, Aunt Elda has no immediate family members or relatives who are able to provide her with the kind of around-the-clock care she will need or to help with the financial expenses for professional care/assistance. However, a friend tells you about a robotic companion, ElderBot—designed to assist and serve as a companion to the elderly—that would be able to provide the kind of assistance your aunt will soon require. Fortunately, you have the money to purchase this robotic companion/care giver for your aunt, but you have some reservations about whether you can entrust your Aunt’s care to this robot. Faced with the dilemma of either being able to do nothing to assist your aunt or providing her with an ElderBot, what would you do? As you deliberate, consider some of the concerns we discussed regarding trust and autonomous machines in Section 12.4.2 (page 332 of Chapter 12).

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