Virtual Reality
Can Virtual Reality Replace Psychedelic Drugs?
A new ayahuasca "experience" at the Tribeca Film Festival puts the question of whether drug trips can be artificially recreated to the test.
Virtual Reality Can Increase Empathy for the Homeless
New research finds it's an effective way to step into the shoes of someone less fortunate.
Breaking Down Virtual-Reality Walls May Boost Creativity
Chinese researchers demonstrate how high-tech tools can be used to harness the power of metaphor.
Facebook and the Reckoning of the Modern Self
The most disturbing insight into the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal has little to do with either Facebook or Cambridge Analytica.
Cody Karutz's Balance of the Visceral and Virtual
Today, Karutz creates and designs direct-media experiences—using both virtual reality and augmented reality—that tell stories concerning the environment and science.
How Virtual Reality Can Treat Chronic Pain
A reduction roughly equivalent to a dose of morphine.
The Evolution of Storytelling Technology
From cave art to virtual reality, a timeline of communication methods.
When Virtual Reality Becomes a Life Saver
The cheapest VR out there has already saved a life.
The Art of COP21
The tensions at this year's summit have yielded scenes of strange beauty.
Journalism's New Reality
Immersive journalism uses virtual reality to insert viewers directly into the story—potentially revolutionizing how reporters and activists do their work.
How Virtual Reality Is Revolutionizing the Role of Activists
An early look at a Pacific Standard story that's currently only available to subscribers.
Anxiety Games: For When a Little Distraction Is Good—or Even Necessary
There’s a lot of comfort to be found in virtual worlds.
YouTube Videos That Make You Tingle
The autonomous sensory meridian response videos are garnering a massive audience, but an explanation for their intense effects has eluded scientific inquiry.
Anxious? Consider Invisibility
Researchers in Sweden create the illusion of being see-through, which might reduce social anxiety.
What Will We Do With Virtual Reality?
It’s not just for gaming. Cheap and accessible virtual reality will soon change how we look at just about everything, and this group of novelists, artists, and designers are leading the way.
Zombie-Infested Virtual World Reveals Our Ethical Blind Spots
Players of an online survival game expressed guilt for killing, but less so for non-lethal actions that would result in a character’s death.
Science Still Doesn't Understand Video Games
But even with odd experiments and disparate conclusions, researchers are edging closer to a more nuanced idea of how they change our behavior.
I’d Never Admit That to My Doctor. But to a Computer? Sure
New research finds patients are more likely to respond honestly to personal questions when talking to a virtual human.
Study: Virtual Reality Eases Racial Prejudices
New research finds a virtual-reality experiment in which you experience yourself as a person of color reduces deep-seated prejudice.
Need Help? Ask a Virtual Superman
New research finds people who flew in virtual reality were more eager to help later.
What Virtual Reality Is About To Mean For Technology and Advertising
The psychologist Jeremy Bailenson’s quest to prepare us for the coming virtual world
Counterinsurgency Training by 'Virtual Human'
Using artificial intelligence and the graphics techniques behind "Avatar," a USC institute creates “virtual humans” and interactive immersions that train American soldiers to win hearts and minds in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Virtual Reality as an Addiction Recovery Tool
The virtual reality world is usually thought of as escapist entertainment. But a University of Houston researcher has found computer-generated environments can serve as an effective tool to help recovering addicts.