People will 'inhabit' robot bodies through VR, performing remote work in hazardous or distant environments.

Imagined Future Scenarios

Virtual Reality, Possible Futures, Medium Term (3 - 5 years)

Scenario Generated from 'Jürgen Schmidhuber – Can All-Purpose Robots Fuel a Comeback?' - Idsia.ch

Future Arc and Implications

Grow Arc

Social Impact: Increased remote work leads to geographical detachment and altered social structures.

Technological Impact: VR and robotics advance rapidly with increasing sophistication and accessibility.

Ecological Impact: Resource extraction in previously inaccessible areas intensifies environmental degradation.

Economic Impact: New markets emerge around remote worker platforms and robotic body maintenance.

Political Impact: Power concentrates in corporations controlling access to robotic bodies and remote work opportunities.

Narrative: The insatiable demand for resources and labor fuels relentless growth, pushing the boundaries of VR-robotic integration but straining the planet.

Collapse Arc

Social Impact: Widespread system failures disproportionately affect those dependent on the VR-robot system, leading to social unrest.

Technological Impact: Lack of maintenance and resource depletion causes breakdowns and obsoletion of robotic bodies and VR infrastructure.

Ecological Impact: Uncontrolled robotic activities and neglect lead to environmental disasters in hazardous environments.

Economic Impact: The VR-robotics economy crumbles as key systems fail, causing widespread unemployment and poverty.

Political Impact: Government control weakens as key infrastructure falls and resource scarcity fuels conflicts.

Narrative: Over-reliance on the VR-robotics system, coupled with resource depletion and neglect, triggers a catastrophic collapse of both technology and society.

Discipline Arc

Social Impact: Rigid social stratification emerges, dividing those with access to robotic bodies and those without.

Technological Impact: VR-robotic technology is tightly controlled and standardized to ensure systemic stability and control.

Ecological Impact: Robotic activities in hazardous environments are stringently regulated to minimize environmental damage.

Economic Impact: A centrally planned economy dictates resource allocation and job assignments within the VR-robotics framework.

Political Impact: Authoritarian control solidifies to maintain order and ensure the VR-robotics system functions according to plan.

Narrative: A highly centralized and rigidly controlled society emerges, utilizing the VR-robotic infrastructure for maximum efficiency and social order at the expense of individual freedom.

Transform Arc

Social Impact: Humanity redefines work and purpose beyond physical limitations, exploring new forms of creativity and connection within VR.

Technological Impact: VR transcends mere robot control, facilitating seamless mind-body integration and potentially enabling consciousness transfer.

Ecological Impact: Robotic bodies are used to repair ecosystems and develop sustainable resource management strategies.

Economic Impact: A circular economy emerges, prioritizing resource regeneration and minimizing waste through VR-guided robotic activities.

Political Impact: Global cooperation is strengthened by shared access to information and resources through the interconnected VR-robotic network.

Narrative: Humanity achieves a profound technological and societal transformation, harnessing VR-robotic technology for ecological restoration, personal growth, and global unity.

Product ideas generated based on this scenario

Avatar-as-a-Service (AaaS)

A subscription service providing access to a range of robotic bodies optimized for different remote work environments. Think renting a robust mining robot for a month or a delicate assembly robot for a week, with all maintenance and upgrades included. Allows companies and individuals to scale their remote workforce quickly without the capital expenditure of owning and maintaining a fleet.

Geographic Detachment Therapy (GDT)

A VR-based social program designed to combat the isolation and lack of connection arising from purely remote work. It uses advanced VR environments and social simulations to facilitate meaningful interactions, build community, and bridge the gap between physical and digital relationships for remote workers.

Robot Rescue & Repair Corps (RRRC)

A decentralized network of technicians and engineers, equipped with open-source repair manuals and readily available 3D-printable parts, focused on salvaging and repairing damaged or obsolete robotic bodies. Operates as a distributed mutual aid network to keep essential robots functioning after system collapse.

Offline Homesteading Simulator (OHS)

A VR program designed to teach basic survival skills and knowledge of resource management in a non-technological environment. It prepares individuals for a potential future where reliance on technology is no longer viable, focusing on skills like gardening, foraging, basic construction, and community cooperation.

Cognitive Alignment Software (CAS)

A mandated VR program integrated with remote robotic control systems. It monitors and adjusts the user's thoughts and emotions to ensure compliance with work protocols and social norms, preventing dissent and maximizing productivity while operating remote robots. It's essentially state-sponsored thought control disguised as workplace safety.

Algorithmic Job Allocation (AJA)

A centralized AI system determining optimal worker-robot pairings based on skill sets, social credit scores, and predefined economic goals. This system removes individual choice in career paths and geographic location, streamlining the controlled labor force within the VR-robotics framework.

Embodied Ecological Restoration (EER)

A VR interface that allows users to directly experience and manipulate robotic actions in environmental restoration projects. Users feel connected to the earth as their actions result in reforestation, pollution cleanup, or coral reef repair, fostering a sense of global stewardship and shared responsibility.

Consciousness Exploration Network (CEN)

A secure and ethical VR platform facilitating experimental exploration of consciousness through interconnected robotic bodies. By allowing individuals to share embodied experiences across vast distances and diverse environments, it aims to foster empathy, understanding, and a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of all life.

Projects inspired by this scenario

What if the tools of our undoing became the seeds of our resilience?

Zalog Budućnosti: Zalog Budućnosti is a speculative design project that reimagines community resilience in the wake of technological collapse, blending salvaged robotics with open-source VR to foster a collaborative, skill-sharing network.