Chris Milk: How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine

Chris Milk uses cutting edge technology to produce astonishing films that delight and enchant. But for Milk, the human story is the driving force behind everything he does. In this short, charming talk, he shows some of his collaborations with musicians including Kanye West and Arcade Fire, and describes his latest, mind-bending experiments with virtual reality.

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[CrevanEmbrust]

The feeling that you are actually there can't be overstated.

The empathy you gain for your favorite movie character (think a movie you cry at) can be compared to the empathy you show in an insect in comparison. The difference is truly mind-blowing. It feels like trying to explain what vertigo feels like to someone who's never felt it.

Seeing old white men in suits with those headsets on gives me a lot of hope.

[minivanjack]

Emotional manipulation - good or bad? Eliciting empathy is a propaganda technique. Chris Milk doesn't mention that VR, like any medium, can be used for good or evil. "It makes us more human" - OR- it makes us more violent, or more servile, or more delusional, or more compliant with statist and global agendas. It just depends on what's on the screen. He is proud of his persuasion, and his intentions seem to be noble, but many other people will use this to persuade in different ways. Some social engineers and control agents will see Virtual Reality as a better tool for social conditioning and brainwashing. They will be right. That is what Chris Milk is saying. I am not saying the medium is bad, it is as good or bad as the content, but we need to stay conscious and skeptical of whatever media we consume and not trust the meduim based on one application.

[TheAmaraHorton]

Para-social interactions are fascinating. I’m hoping to write my doctoral thesis on using virtual reality as an adaptive technology for simulating social interactions to help improve the social skills with adolescents and adults on the Autism spectrum. How amazing to think that down the line adaptive technology could be a WHOLE immersive world for those who have such a hard time filtering and processing the world. So happy to have stumbled on this TEDTalk!

[MichelleOsorio]

This presentation makes this techy, geeky filmmaker teary-eyed. I just got my own Samsung Gear VR and am cobbling together a 360 camera rig by velcro'ing two Kodak PixPro 360s together (an affordable solution till that Kickstarter I backed sends me a 4K Sphericam 2). As a storyteller, I am so very excited and inspired right now with the potential of this medium. The world is still figuring out what we can do with VR, but I look forward to experimenting, creating and sharing what will hopefully be moving experiences with the world. Chris Milk is my hero.

[Creaform]

This guy is a pretty damn good speaker.

[KyleGiesbrecht]

"Talking about Virtual Reality is like dancing about architecture"

[Ruuubick]

Speaking about VR in front of a crowd of people who probably haven't tried VR is weird, VR cannot be described, so i don't really think VR is the subject of this talk but empathy is, VR is just the medium.

[SimplyGimpy]

It's only just beginning, isn't it? This century is going to be a doozy.

[ArbitraryxIntentions]

Great video on one of the many world changing applications of VR.

Virtual reality, is absolutely, the future.

[brunon.]

VR is a revolution to transform the physical world into a digital one.

[robertvanhollenbeck]

This is a great idea! you can really sense his passion.

[SwobyJ]

In my opinion VR, like so much tech we have, simulates triggers of empathy. But only simulates. It can act as a training for real empathy (at least as real as we can 'naturally' experience it between people), and I'm good with that, but it will always lack a realness as long as it is virtual in definition. VR is not my enemy, but I'll be damn sure that if I have a kid in the next couple decades, they'll know there are times to detach and put their lessons into practice. This includes all possible transhuman technologies/existences btw.

[mariaastridbernalbarragan]

En un mundo donde todo esta a un click de distancia pero las "obligaciones" crean barreras que imposibilitan el acercamiento, considero que es una herramienta para sensibilizar bastante efectiva, de alguna manera puedes poner a cualquier persona en los zapatos de cualquier persona y poder entrar en la realidad total que da esta herramienta, habilita todos los sentimientos compasivos que como seres humanos nos caracteriza. .Que importante aporte da la tecnología a la sociedad!

[hyenaedits]

Beautiful. THIS is why I subscribed to TED!

[thorspower]

We must start to see each other as "each other" not simply the "other".

[Archontasil]

until it VR becomes available for everyone, video games are the best empathy machines we have, VG put us in a shoes of a character inside a world rather than puts us on a seat. VG should not be seen as murder rapist trainer simulator whatever they're labeled these days

[John-]

This is sheer brilliance. I recently enjoyed a similar book, and it was absolutely brilliant. "The Art of Meaningful Relationships in the 21st Century" by Leo Flint

[cynlagos]

Watching this again 4 years later as the vision pro is released to the world 🤓

[SuperBulian]

As much as VR games would be wanted by the masses. The use of VR as a way to convey messages to have people become a better people through VR WOULD be highly more demanded. I look forward to the day for either VR gaming or VR therapy.

[TheSilentX]

This is awesome! I can't wait for these kinds of films to become available to a large portion of the population! It can do wonders for our perspective of the world in general.