Mahboobin, 4:00
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VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS DARK SIDE
Cole Partington (cbp16@pitt.edu)
LIFE AS AN ENGINEER
As an engineer, I am often faced with difficult problems.
Many of these problems can be worked out using the
knowledge gained through my education and a lot of late
nights. However, some problems can’t be solved using
physics and calculus, and instead must be solved by
understanding ethics. These problems involving ethics are
frequently the most difficult to solve. I’m forced to think of
the very big picture and examine how my product will affect
the world from endless angles. Currently, I’m in the middle
of finding a solution to perhaps the biggest ethical dilemma
I’ve encountered yet.
START OF MY CAREER
Three years ago I graduated from the University of
Pittsburgh with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After
graduating, I decided to go straight into industry and began
searching for a job. At that time, my main interest was virtual
reality. The virtual reality market was booming and
expectations for virtual reality headsets were extremely high.
Exemplifying these high expectations was Facebook’s
purchase of a top virtual reality company, Oculus VR, for two
billion dollars. I applied to many different companies and was
extremely lucky to be offered a position at Virtureal, one of
the many virtual reality startup companies in the United
States. After accepting the job, I was placed on the hardware
design team for their biggest project: creating a virtual reality
headset.
PERFECTING A PRODUCT
The past three years I have spent going through the many
stages of development for Virtureal’s cutting edge headset,
named VR4U. At first we had to narrow down the actual
purpose of VR4U, since virtual reality has many different
applications. After much thought, our team decided to focus
on making VR4U a virtual reality video game headset. We
then spent the next year designing our first model and set up
the reveal date for this prototype at E3, one of the biggest
technology conferences of the year. The focus of that
conference was virtual reality so our product was producing a
lot of excitement. At the conference, I demonstrated and
allowed others to experience our home made video game that
Virtureal’s developers perfected. The game was set in the
bustling streets of New York City and had the user assume the
role of a taxi driver. The virtual environment was beautifully
designed and really embodied the hectic nature of driving a
taxi in New York City. When I demonstrated the game,
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
2015-11-03
simply named NYC Taxi Driver, I felt my stress levels rising
like crazy and realized that’s exactly what the game
developers wanted to happen. This artificial stress helped to
demonstrate the overall success of the VR4U headset. All the
other participants loved the game and especially loved the
easy to use VR4U, making it the biggest story of the 2017 E3.
A SPLIT DECISION
The 2017 E3 was a huge launch for the VR4U project.
Within the next couple weeks all of the major video game
developers contacted Virtureal asking if we would interested
in developing their upcoming games for the VR4U. Electronic
Arts proposed Madden 18, 2K Games proposed NBA 2K18,
and Rockstar Games proposed Grand Theft Auto 6. We
dedicated a whole week to decide which games we would
choose to develop. Our initial decision was that we would
only choose 2 of the 3 games because our launch date was
scheduled for November 2018 so as to capitalize on sales
during the holiday season [2]. However, after deliberation a
majority of my team decided that we had time to develop all
three games [1]. I was one of the few team members that went
against the majority. I didn’t think there was enough time,
however all my bosses sided with the majority leaving me
stuck with nothing to do with my unpopular opinion. Yet the
time deadline wasn’t the only thing that worried me about the
decision to develop all three games. I also worried about the
idea of developing Grand Theft Auto 6. I’d played Grand
Theft Auto games in the past and they are brutally violent.
The player is basically allowed to do whatever they choose,
whether it be hijacking cars or killing innocent civilians and
police officers in a multitude of ways. The idea of making this
sort of game available on virtual reality machines made me
uncomfortable because over the years I’d always heard the
idea that violent games made the people that play them more
aggressive [3]. At the time the decision was made to develop
Grand Theft Auto I didn’t know if that idea was true or not so
I couldn’t argue with the decision. However, if violent video
games did make people more aggressive, the adaption to a
virtual reality headset would only compound this problem
since virtual reality headsets are fully immersive. All the user
would see, hear, and feel would be the virtual environment.
So if a user kills a person in the Grand Theft Auto virtual
reality game, it may feel much more lifelike. Both the time
constraint and the idea of adapting a violent video game really
concerned me and caused me to think about the ethical
implications of each problem.
CONSULTING THE CODES OF ETHICS
Cole Partington
This canon states that engineers “agree to improve the
understanding of technology; its appropriate application, and
potential consequences” [5]. This perfectly applies to my
current dilemma as virtual reality headsets are a brand new
technology. Since this application of virtual reality is so new
not much is known about the “potential consequences” of
these headsets. Based on this canon, the IEEE suggests
researching the possible negative aspects of virtual reality
headsets and its applications (video games) before releasing
the technology to the public. In addition to consulting the
many Codes of Ethics across the different professional
engineering groups, I also go to other more personal sources.
The National Society of Professional Engineers,
sometimes called the NSPE, is a large group of professional
engineers in the United States. They have a Code of Ethics
that every professional engineer must be familiar with. In the
preamble of the code it states, “Engineering has a direct and
vital impact on the quality of life for all people” [4]. I find this
statement extremely important as it shows why there is a need
for a standardized Code of Ethics for all engineers. If an
engineer makes one mistake it could be devastating for many
people. As such, I take my job seriously and that is why I’m
so concerned about the development of the Grand Theft Auto
game for the VR4U. The second canon under the subject
Professional Obligations declares, “Engineers shall at all
times strive to serve the public interest” [4]. In my opinion, I
don’t think that Grand Theft Auto game would best “serve the
public’s interest”, it may even fact endanger the public if it
does indeed make people more aggressive. Even with the
violent nature of the game aside, the time deadline will put the
game developers under a lot of pressure. This could result in
a blemished final product. I’m sure it isn’t in the public’s best
interest to pay sixty dollars for a poorly made game. Another
part of the Code of Ethics that fits in with these same problems
is the first canon. This canon says, “Engineers shall hold
paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” [4].
In my view, keeping the public safe is the number one priority
as an engineer. Under this canon, NSPE states, “If engineers’
judgement is overruled under circumstances that endanger life
or property, they shall notify their employer” [4]. This point
made in the Code of Ethics is extremely important as it gives
me my first course of action. In addition, it made me realize
that my concerns were very much rational. Going along with
the time ethical problem is the first canon of the Professional
Obligations subtopic of the code which states, “Engineers
shall acknowledge their errors and shall not distort or alter the
truth” [4]. Unfortunately, I have a feeling if the game is not
completely flawless Virtureal will still release the game and
advertise it as a perfect game. The NSPE’s purpose of having
this Code of Ethics is to help engineers like me establish if
situations are ethical or not.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or
IEEE is another group of professional engineers. This group
also has a Code of Ethics that contains many similar ideas to
the Code of Ethics of the NSPE. The IEEE Code of Ethics
furthers my case for the ethical problems that may arise from
developing Grand Theft Auto. The first canon states, an
engineer must “accept responsibility in making decisions
consistent with the safety, and welfare of the public” [5]. This
canon is very similar to the first canon of the NSPE Code of
Ethics, as both address the important topic of the safety and
welfare of the public. The third canon of the IEEE code
declares that an engineer should “be honest and realistic in
stating claims” [5]. Realistic is the key word in this canon, as
the time deadline Virtureal has set for releasing the game is
very unrealistic. This canon also goes along with a similar one
from the NSPE code. One canon in the IEEE that is
completely unique from the NSPE code is the fifth canon.
WEEKLY PHONE CALL
Every Sunday evening after all the football games are over
I call my parents. This is a habit I started my freshman year
of college and one that I have carried with me through
graduation into the start of my professional career. It is a part
of my week that I really look forward to, as they always give
me words of encouragement. I always have a good idea of
how the conversation will go. Pretty much every conversation
starts with my dad and I talking about football and how bad
our favorite team is doing. Then, the talk turns to more serious
subjects like how I’m doing and how my job is going. Usually
I can answer those questions very positively since I’m lucky
enough to have my dream job. However there have been
occasions where snags in the VR4U’s development had me
extremely stressed out. During those stressful times my
parents are there every Sunday night to give me helpful ideas.
In the past, those words of advice my parents give always
seem to guide me in the right direction so I decided to see
what they thought about my ethical problem. During one of
my weekly calls I brought up the new plan to have a violent
video developed for the VR4U. I also told them my concerns
and the potential problems I foresaw with releasing the game
from. Growing up I was never allowed to have violent video
games so it wasn’t a surprise to me that they completely
disagreed with the idea of developed Grand Theft Auto.
Nonetheless, those were the exact word I wanted to hear as it
reaffirmed my belief that releasing the game could prove
harmful. When I asked how I should solve this problem my
dad replied with his signature reply to almost everything, “just
problem solve”.
ANOTHER SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Another person’s opinion who I extremely value is
Morihei Ueshiba. He was a 19th and 20th century philosopher
and martial artist. He founded the discipline of martial arts
known as Aikido, focuses on protecting both the attacker and
one being attacked. Usehiba’s main statute that he lives by is
that all life is important. This and his other ideas are
articulated in his book titled The Art of Peace. A lot of times
when I’m feeling overwhelmed with work I’ll just pick up my
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copy and just read starting from a random page. One of my
favorite of Ueshiba’s quotes is, “Keep the peace of the world,
protect and cultivate all beings of nature” [9]. This really
exemplifies the idea that all life is important and demonstrates
to me that I must take some course of action against the
release of Grand Theft Auto since the violence in the game
can’t possibly help “keep the peace of the world”. This game
also definitely wouldn’t “protect all beings”, and if anything
would do the exact opposite.
like greed, ethics are sometimes ignored. This is what makes
problems that involve ethics so hard to find a solution.
However, if stuck in an ethical dilemma, an engineer consults
personal sources along with codes of ethics, the right decision
can be reached.
REFERENCES
[1] G. Palau-Salvador et al. “Engineering Ethics in Spain:
The Risky Tank”. University of Valencia. (Online Case
Study).
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/cases.ph
p.
[2] National Institute for Engineering Ethics. “The
Leaning Tower: A Timely Dilemma”. Texas Tech University.
(Online
Case
Study).
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/cases.ph
p.
[3] Kurt Reymers. “Chicken Killers or Bandwidth
Patriots? A Case Study of Ethics in Virtual Reality”.
Morrisville State College. (Online Case Study).
http://sociology.morrisville.edu/infospace/papers/2010-1109-TheChickenWarsOfSecondLife.pdf.
[4] National Society Professional Engineers. “NSPE Code
of
Ethics
for
Engineers”.
(Website).
http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics.
[5] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
“IEEE
Code
of
Ethics”.
(Website).
http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8.html.
[6] Samit Sarkar. (2015, August 13). “American
Psychological Association Affirms Link Between Violent
Video Game and Aggression”. Polygon. (Online Article).
http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/13/9149481/violent-videogames-aggression-research-review-report-apa-resolution.
[7] Nick Wingfield. (2015, June 14). “Virtual Reality
Headsets, Gaining Scrutiny This Week, Raise Very Real
Concerns”. New York Times. (Online Article).
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/business/virtualreality-headsets-raise-very-real-concerns.html?_r=0.
[8] (2015). “Virtual Reality and Ethical Issues”. Virtual
Reality Blog. (Online Blog). http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtualreality/ethical-issues.html.
[9] Kisshomaru Ueshiba. (2013, February 1). The Spirit of
Aikido. Kodansha USA. (Print book).
THE DECISION
After consulting and analyzing many different sources I
finally decided on a course of action. I decided that my first
step in solving this ethical problem would be to research the
relationship between violent video games and increased
aggression. After researching the topic for a week I ended up
finding a lot of support for a connection between aggression
and violent video games. Most supportive was the American
Psychological Association’s “49 page report from the APA
Task Force on Violent Media” [6]. According to the report,
there “demonstrates a consistent relation between violent
video game use and increases in aggressive behavior” [6]. In
addition, the report starts to draw parallels between the use of
violent video games and acts of criminal violence. This
finding really worried me and I hoped my boss would think
the same way. In order to further the significance of my
research I decided to see if I could find some evidence that
shows that the findings by the APA would be worsened by
use of virtual reality. I found a significant link that showed
that in many instances people “are transfixed by virtual space”
[7]. This combined with the fact that a virtual reality will
“completely occlude what’s happening around someone”
could easily result in the user’s confusion between the virtual
and real world [7]. Studies have been done that show that this
blurring between the virtual and real world is called cyberaddiction and this along with the desensitization of people
playing violent video games can severely decrease a person’s
empathy [8]. After finishing my research, I told my boss and
the rest of the VR4U team that I was extremely against
releasing Grand Theft Auto 6. I then presented all my findings
to them and left with a single question for them to ponder:
would you rather make less money or have a possible murder
be associated with the VR4U?
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
COMPLEXITY OF ETHICS
The answer to this question is the central point of ethics.
The correct answer to my previous question is to make less
money. This option results in Virtureal keeping the safety of
the public paramount which both the IEEE and NSPE codes
of ethics include in one of their canons. So, this decision
should be a fairly easy one to make, but because of factors
Deborah and Keith Partington
Morihei Ueshiaba
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Matt Hoge for editing my paper and
guiding me in the right direction. I’d also like to thank my
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parents Deb and Keith Partington for always giving me words
of advice.
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