Ethical Reflection on Ready Player One

Morrow wrote in his autobiography that he’d left GSS because ... he felt that the OASIS had evolved into something horrible. “It had become a self-imposed prison for humanity,” he wrote. “A pleasant place for the world to hide from its problems while human civilization slowly collapses, primarily due to neglect.” (p. 120)

(Halliday speaking) “I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn’t know how to connect with people there. I was afraid, for all of my life. Right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.” (p. 364)

Hey, it's me again after finishing the course book. The two quotes above have been taken from the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and I'll use them as a point of discussion and an ethical reflection on the book.

I agree with these both quotes. The first one, because as we read in the book Halliday built the Oasis as a safe haven from the real world and while this was a great idea at first, it made him lose his humanity and his best friend. The lesson which he gives us, in the end, is that even though there will be great technological achievements, we must never forget about the real world and the real people in it since he clearly did and therefore had his regrets.

Personally, I do think that by 2040 or 2050 we will be able to have something similar to the Oasis. On a daily basis, there are lots of emphasis being made to virtual reality and AI. More importantly, is not only developers or gamers that are exploring these new capabilities, and bigger companies are starting to use them as a medium to sell their products. Also, our technology and ambitions move really fast. Talk with someone that used a computer in the 1980s and ask them if they ever thought they could ever be talking or watching movies over the internet on a computer on their lap, I am sure they would have called crazy to anyone that would have thought about back then.

I also think a system like Oasis could eventually alter our cultural and personal values. Internet is cruel, and you can certainly find all types of people in that would do anything to just mess with other people's lives. This whole environment changes your perceptions towards people, your true reality and affects the way you behave.