Digital Reality Fly Through

“Digital reality fly through” Was indeed a fly through. The speakers rotated throw the tables, in order to engage in conversation. The short time established for these conversations proved it self to be too short. By the time the talk became interesting the speakers were asked to move to another table.

In the short time attempt to crate some kind of debate, about virtual reality environments and the attempt to make them as real as possible. Looking for ways to create characters as human as possible. Some questions did rise.
We were asked whether we get a weird notion in front of virtual characters, because something in them does not seem real enough. I must say that I would feel weirder knowing that we came to a stage you can not tell if the person in front of you is real. For me the weird notion will start when there will be no difference between the 'real' and the 'virtual real'.
Is the attempt to make virtual realty environments, and human characters in it, as real as possible is the right approach?
I left 'Digital reality fly through' with the notion that we are tackling the wrong issues.
I couldn't help thinking - Why make a virtual environment so real to explore. Isn't there enough to explore in reality it self? I my self would be much more up to the challenge of exploring a new and unfamiliar virtual environment, then one that seems so real that I feel I already know it, and its response to me.
Further more sitting in-front of the computer I can really relate to the point (made by Christoph Burgdorfer) that the virtual world of the internet, and the reality it creates is the one we should explore.

On the other hand, even reality is not as real as we wight want it to be, so maybe it is a good idea to have a place that is real at least in virtual.

A reaction to the event "Digital reality fly-through" took place on March 7 at the Dana Center.

Photos from the event