AMT Lab @ CMU: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek details author Annie Dillard’s exploration of nature around her home near Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Her piercing contemplations on nature and life were lauded by critics, and in 1975, Pilgrim won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction. Many of Dillard’s deepest reflections throughout the book are preceded by the act of “seeing”; the narrator often begins by observing her surroundings with an unparalleled intensity until she seemingly gets pulled above her usual sphere of consciousness — and is then hit with a profound realization.
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This is the kind of thing that I wish more people would consider using AI for. It seems as though every other day we hear about a new group on strike against AI in their jobs or artists fighting for regulations against AI training on their art. Because of these negative impacts, I have a predisposition to hating AI and worrying about its inclusion in the future. But stories like this give me some hope. If VR can be used to give people experiences they might not otherwise get, I think that that's a positive thing and can benefit society overall. During the pandemic when museums and theater shut down, I would have loved to be able to experience some level of these experiences from the safety of my own home. I think it could have been really beneficial to my mental health to experience some level of normality, even if it was virtual. I hope that instead of continuing to use AI to replace human jobs and creations, we can begin to use AI for things that make everyone's lives better.
I am not a psychologist, but I can definitely tell you that existing in an unnatural space (like 33) while performing tasks that cause mental fatigue (like homework) sucks. It was absolutely fascinating to read a science-backed article explaining why “touching grass” is so important. It’s really interesting that VR nature has the same effect as real nature. In many ways, it’s a bit sad that real nature is so inaccessible and we are left so naturally depressed by that situation that we have to even consider the concept of VR nature, but I digress. With all of the technology we have, I could totally see “VR nature break rooms” becoming a popular new thing, and I would really love the expansion of VR museums. I think especially from an educational standpoint, taking an art history class and having a virtual field trip to the Louvre would be a really cool experience.
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