If virtual humans are possible to be made, one potential advantage that immediately comes up into my mind is that we can create our own copies so that our spirits and thoughts can still be spread and will not be forgotten after we die. No matter how famous and successful we are, we must go through aging, illness and death, and after we die, it will be a pity if we just leave the world without giving anything to the offspring. While these virtual humans can get rid of aging, illness and death, if we can make our own replicates with this technology, we can share our belief to the next generation after we die so that we can spiritually exist although we physically pass away. Nevertheless, there may be some drawbacks for making virtual humans. We can import memories and the way of thinking into the virtual humans, but can the virtual humans really think like the real humans? It may be true that the virtual humans can be very logical, strictly follow what have been programmed in their minds and everything is just black and white. However, being the real humans, our thinking is not just about black and white, but also involves grey areas for us to balance between different perspectives and this thinking process actually varies in different situations. So can the virtual humans think outside the scope of their programs? If not, will they make the wrong decision for us if we employ them in our daily lives? This is actually arguable when we are making virtual humans.
Like
ntjandra
Nov 28, 2018
Until today, the world's leading neuroscientists do not know how consciousness exists within the human mind. This creates some significant conundrums if we see ourselves creating virtual humans that have brains indistinguishable from our own: are they truly lifeless and possess no consciousness? do we treat them as human beings or as inferior? and is it truly ethical, by human standards, to enclose these virtual humans in some kind of simulation? These are several cons to the prompt at hand.
In terms of pros, one benefit we can derive from creating virtual humans is observing how our society will develop in the future. Because virtual humans have to be placed in some kind of setting, if we were to create them so that they are indistinguishable from our nature, and place them in a simulation that mimics our current conditions, then in theory we can speed up time in the virtual world and use their development as a framework for our societal development.
Like
ycsjose
Nov 28, 2018
It may cause wrong perception to human. For example, over expectation on human beauty, especially women. Nowadays there are many PSed "beautiful woman", all having the features thin, big eyes, sexy, long legs, etc, with the help of social media, they become very popular. In result, a lot of ladies spent a lot of money and effort to acheive these features of "beautiful woman". They may not just lost money but also their health and safety, for example, there are a lot of plastic surgery failure issue reported. With virtual reality, people can even have a closer and a more realistic look to virtual human bodies, the drawbacks may be even worsen.
Like
varun_3035452898
Oct 28, 2018
Virtual humans would never be able to feel the emotional void in peoples live. They might make people more emotionally unavailable to others
Like
Naman Shah
Oct 24, 2018
Making virtual humans can bring drastic changes in the real world, as this might give people a chance to take their frustrations out on the simulated people. Consequently, this might lead to an exponential drop in the crime rates. On the contrary, such a technology may hinder basic human interactions. Moreover, sometimes an act of attempting a crime in the virtual world may tempt people to do the same in the real world.
If virtual humans are possible to be made, one potential advantage that immediately comes up into my mind is that we can create our own copies so that our spirits and thoughts can still be spread and will not be forgotten after we die. No matter how famous and successful we are, we must go through aging, illness and death, and after we die, it will be a pity if we just leave the world without giving anything to the offspring. While these virtual humans can get rid of aging, illness and death, if we can make our own replicates with this technology, we can share our belief to the next generation after we die so that we can spiritually exist although we physically pass away. Nevertheless, there may be some drawbacks for making virtual humans. We can import memories and the way of thinking into the virtual humans, but can the virtual humans really think like the real humans? It may be true that the virtual humans can be very logical, strictly follow what have been programmed in their minds and everything is just black and white. However, being the real humans, our thinking is not just about black and white, but also involves grey areas for us to balance between different perspectives and this thinking process actually varies in different situations. So can the virtual humans think outside the scope of their programs? If not, will they make the wrong decision for us if we employ them in our daily lives? This is actually arguable when we are making virtual humans.
Until today, the world's leading neuroscientists do not know how consciousness exists within the human mind. This creates some significant conundrums if we see ourselves creating virtual humans that have brains indistinguishable from our own: are they truly lifeless and possess no consciousness? do we treat them as human beings or as inferior? and is it truly ethical, by human standards, to enclose these virtual humans in some kind of simulation? These are several cons to the prompt at hand.
In terms of pros, one benefit we can derive from creating virtual humans is observing how our society will develop in the future. Because virtual humans have to be placed in some kind of setting, if we were to create them so that they are indistinguishable from our nature, and place them in a simulation that mimics our current conditions, then in theory we can speed up time in the virtual world and use their development as a framework for our societal development.
It may cause wrong perception to human. For example, over expectation on human beauty, especially women. Nowadays there are many PSed "beautiful woman", all having the features thin, big eyes, sexy, long legs, etc, with the help of social media, they become very popular. In result, a lot of ladies spent a lot of money and effort to acheive these features of "beautiful woman". They may not just lost money but also their health and safety, for example, there are a lot of plastic surgery failure issue reported. With virtual reality, people can even have a closer and a more realistic look to virtual human bodies, the drawbacks may be even worsen.
Virtual humans would never be able to feel the emotional void in peoples live. They might make people more emotionally unavailable to others
Making virtual humans can bring drastic changes in the real world, as this might give people a chance to take their frustrations out on the simulated people. Consequently, this might lead to an exponential drop in the crime rates. On the contrary, such a technology may hinder basic human interactions. Moreover, sometimes an act of attempting a crime in the virtual world may tempt people to do the same in the real world.