Have to add this. In Class one the slide said:
Well we may be about to find out. Check out the link:
News for the Minecraft generation: Gannett experiments with virtual reality | Poynter.
jon
Legal Constraints on (Digital) Creativity
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver campus
This is awesome. Definite thesis topic for next year!
There are a number of Oculus Rift’s at the Centre for Digital Media which is (1/4) part of UBC. If you want to try a journalistic project/experiment there may well be a way to arrange that – you never know.
jon
This is such an interesting topic, which raises a multitude of economic, political, and social issues. This is actually a research project that Taylor (Owen) and I are working on — how can virtual reality be a tool in immersive journalistic storytelling? One of the goals journalists could have through using technology is to include the audience in their own experience, having them see a 360-degree perspective of what they are seeing IN REAL TIME. It is interesting to note, however, the intersection of this with law. It would be interesting to see how law, which seemingly responds to the changes in media and technology, would “abide” by the presence and eventual use of the VR technology reality in our society. Would it possible for journalists to simply show whatever they see around them using this technology to their audiences? How would it affect existing laws about privacy and privacy torts — especially if the events occur in real time? What will happen to consent?
There are a number of possible legal implications:
1. Privacy: Actually Google raises less issues in some ways then Google Glass because they are pretty obvious and don’t travel particularly well in the real-world.
2. Negligence: Things are so realistic that as one article noted someone could get a heart-attack for real. What happens then? Could Oculus be liable (the cases so far say no – but might the added realism make a difference).
jon