Artificial Intelligence (AI) Versus Virtual Reality (VR)
A Head to Head Comparison for the Masses
As a public service I am pleased to present to you a quick primer on the major similarities and differences between AI and VR. I do this out of the kindness of my heart and ask for no compensation other than your attention.
Similarities:
Going to happen/be huge next week, next month, next year
Featured in at least 2–4 articles/day on medium, 4–6 articles/day everywhere else
Fake degrees available majoring in each
Investors have lost billions sinking cash into ridiculous schemes featuring them
Investors have made billions sinking cash into ridiculous schemes featuring them
Are hypetastic!
Differences:
One is a real actually existing thing (VR), the other is not (AI)
One is responsible for the singularity (AI), the other is responsible for the single people (VR)
One will save and/or destroy the world (AI), the other will destroy your marriage (VR)
One lives in your computer (AI), the other is a computer you live in (VR)
One uses artificial neural networks to mimic the activity of the human brain based on unproven and oversimplified theories of how it works and learns, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that many competing theories that are just as likely to be correct exist (AI), the other uses standard hardware and software to trick the brain into ignoring the fact that it is currently inside the skull of a very foolish looking human who is totally oblivious to what is happening around them (VR).
One pretends be alive (AI), the other makes life pretend (VR)
One has a similarly named competitive technology that almost, but not quite, lives up to the potential of the original (VR — augmented reality/AR). the other has many differently named offspring that almost, but not quite, mask the fact that the original has very little chance of happening in the next 500 years (AI — machine learning, deep learning, deep intelligence, etc.)
One probably cannot happen without a body (AI), the other definitely cannot (VR)
….Interesting question though would an AI have any interest in VR? For instance could a non-embodied AI use VR to “experience” sensations somehow? Would it need to or want to? What about for an embodied AI. Why use VR when you are already a ‘virtual’ being in a sense?
