Virtually Human: Living in Jaron Lanier’s virtual reality

In this episode of the “Technically Human” podcast, I sit down with Jaron Lanier, the creator of virtual reality. Jaron and I discuss the meaning, and the future, of reality in an increasingly virtual world, and we talk about what virtual reality was in its early stages. Jaron outlines his concerns and critique of technological culture, and he explains why the kind of behavior modification and manipulation engineered by social media platforms has become, in his mind, a “Behaviours of Users Modified, and Made into an Empire for Rent," or a BUMMER. Jaron Lanier is the founder of the field of virtual reality. From 2009, he has worked at Microsoft Research as an Interdisciplinary Scientist in a role called “The Octopus,” (which stands for Office of the Chief Technology Officer Prime Unifying Scientist).