I attended a class about death in VR — here’s what happened

I attended a class about decease in VR — hither's what happened

(Image credit: Future)

"Death is like yanking a plug out of a figurer," a VR form participant said. "You tin tap on the keyboard, but you'll become no response — it gets thrown in the trash and that's it. The only deviation is that our bodies decompose much faster than a hunk of junk."

"Nah," some other chimed in. "Our bodies die, but our consciousness doesn't. Retrieve about it! Here we are continuing together in virtual reality. Our bodies are not here, but our minds, our consciousness are nowadays. This will be our hereafter. We'll 'dice' on the concrete plane, but we'll remain 'alive' by uploading our consciousness to the cloud."

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A fiery, Black Mirror-esque debate about cyber immortality broke out in a expiry class inside AltSpaceVR, a social-VR platform that hosts gratuitous classes, open-mic nights, comedy shows, and more. People from all over the globe come together in these virtual spaces via their headsets (I utilize the Oculus Quest 2). AltSpaceVR is the safest way to socialize in large numbers without violating any pandemic-related mandates.

"Expiry Q&A," the name of the class I attended, was hosted past Tom Nickel, a argent-fox avatar with a wise, eloquent personality reminiscent of Dumbledore or Gandalf, and Ryan Astheimer, a calm-and-collected cool cat who seemed just as eager to learn from other participants as he was to teach.

In existent life, Nickel is a instructor with an impressive resume. He'southward got a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, and he'southward currently working on a VR development project in Cambodia. He'south also been practicing transcendental meditation for a whopping fifty years. On meridian of that, he was one time a hospice volunteer and now offers end-of-life grooming to mental health professionals. Considering Nickel'due south background, information technology'south no wonder the Expiry Q&A class dove into discussions most transcendental philosophies and VR cyber immortality. Astheimer is equally intriguing; he's a life coach who specializes in the philosophy of Enlightenment.

You see, AltSpaceVR classes aren't taught by dolts; the platform has real-life experts with a wealth of noesis to share. I learned about different afterlife philosophies within a colorful, intricately decorated Tibetan-esque temple as AltSpaceVR members offered their theories on what happens later on we kick the saucepan. It was, without a doubt, an incredible experience.

I entered the class being fearful of death and left with a new, optimistic perspective of mortality. Certain, it's an outlandish concept, merely if there'southward truly a possibility of "uploading" my consciousness into a cloud server after death — merely like Black Mirror's "San Junipero'' episode — what'due south at that place to exist afraid of? Living in VR, in my personal opinion, sounds a hell of a lot more fun than fading into nothingness.

The meditation class

I also joined a meditation course to get my oms and ahs on. I apace realized that meditation isn't for me; I've got also many ants in my pants to sit still. Plus, my immaturity kicked in as I laughed at some hilariously deformed avatars in grade. Hands and heads were being artsy at unnatural angles as a result of users putting their VR headsets and controllers aside to meditate. Thankfully, no i could hear my goofy guffaws; the meditation leader muted everyone to thwart class clowns (like myself) from disrupting the relaxing session.

A few participants had colorful aura glows around their avatars — an choice only offered to paying meditation members. The meditation VR space was serene and peaceful with life-similar clouds drifting in the distance. Later the teacher completed the guided meditation, many first-timers thanked him for leading such a calming, therapeutic session. Although it's not my loving cup of tea, I'd recommend the VR meditation grade to anyone seeking full relaxation and stress relief.

The social-media marketing course

The campfire at AltSpaceVR — The bivouac at AltSpaceVR (Image credit: Future)

Next, I hopped into a social media marketing grade. The Tibetan temple and meditation infinite were stunning VR locales, but nothing beats having a course in a snowy campsite near an water ice skating rink and a roaring fire. I was even offered some hot cocoa — not that I could drink it or anything, but information technology helped to spice upwards the camping-in-the-forest ambiance.

Forget Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — Andy Fidel, the host of the social media marketing class, said that VR is the adjacent big thing. With the Oculus Quest 2 offer a budget-friendly toll to consumers (which helps to make VR more than accessible), the VR community is growing, making it an increasingly attractive identify for promoting one's brand. Artists, for example, accept used AltSpaceVR to launch exhibitions that increase the visibility of their artwork, allowing users to walk through their virtual galleries. In my VR dating slice, I had my kickoff VR date in a museum simulation curated by the New Orleans Photograph Alliance.

The social-media marketing host also gushed about a recent AltSpaceVR red-carpet event launched by a picture show studio. The film studio originally planned to host an in-person premiere with celebrities and influencers to promote its new projection, but due to the pandemic, it had to find another way to advertise its new release. Instead of streaming another slow digital event (ugh, that's and so 2022), the film studio opted to host a VR event for the growing customs of Quest users. That — yous have to admit — is pretty absurd. I wouldn't fifty-fifty take to fret well-nigh buying a apparel; I'd just swap out my avatar's coincidental, laid-back outfit for a fancier ensemble.

Family unit genealogy grade

Finally, in my last class of the week, I ended up at a family unit genealogy lecture, which was hosted past a woman named Lorelle — the most I-hateful-business teacher I've ever encountered on AltSpaceVR. Side conversations will get you booted from her class, then brand sure to shut your mouth and pay attention. At one point, an avatar whizzed itself in front of the Lorelle (probable a slip-of-the-finger accident) "Um, that'southward rude!" she said earlier booting the poor sap out of the room. "Trolls will go y'all nuked without whatever explanation!"

I could tell Lorelle has dealt with her off-white share of trolls, hence her zero-tolerance policy for in-form shenanigans. Despite her austere instruction way, Lorelle'due south family genealogy lecture was the about informative course I've ever attended. "I'yard curious! Has anyone discovered whether they're related to anyone famous via genealogy research?" she asked the class. 1 woman raised her avatar'southward hand and said, "I have! I institute out that I am a direct descendant of a French emperor: Napoleon Bonaparte."

A chorus of "wow," "cool" and "that's crawly!" filled the room, merely Lorelle didn't seem impressed. "Did you verify this through records?" she asked.

"Yeah," Napoleon'south descendent said. "I tracked him down via my paternal lineage." But Lorelle rained on her parade with some bubble-bursting facts. "Er, Napoleon but had one legitimate son and he died at 21 with no children, so y'all're not a direct descendant. Yous might exist related to another member of the Bonaparte family unit, though."

An awkward silence filled the room. I chuckled after suffering a footling bit of second-hand embarrassment, but thankfully, I had myself on mute — I would take definitely been nuked out of the class.

In an "I already know the answer, but I'd like to see how much the class knows" tone, Lorelle asked, "Does anyone know the purpose of the census?" A handful of participants served up answers that had something to do with demographics, but in a charismatic response, she said, "Nope! Many believe that the census is all about collecting ethnicity information for 'record-keeping,' only no! It's about money!" She explained that the government relies on census information to figure out how to manage tax, distribute funds and assign congressional seats (I learned something new).

So why did Lorelle bring up the demography? Well, she wanted to use the demography every bit an example of why y'all should always know the true motives behind regime-based record-keeping; it helps to illuminate fascinating details well-nigh your ancestors on a macro level. For example, knowing that the Usa census once calculated your enslaved ancestor as merely three-fifths of a human being paints a revealing story virtually the backbreaking life they lived.

In her closing remarks, the family genealogy teacher urged united states to collect information about our family history while our older family members are alive — and don't forget to extract personality-defining data like their favorite colour, memorable life moments and more. "I'1000 sorry, but I've been researching expressionless people for decades and it breaks my heart every fourth dimension I come across 'name, engagement, place,' and nothing more. I don't know who these people are!" she said, encouraging us to immortalize our family history with pizazz for posterity.

Bottom line

My class-hopping adventures in VR — all cheers to my Oculus Quest 2 — compelled me to reflect on what the future of instruction looks like in a post-COVID-19 world. AltSpaceVR eclipses what Zoom classes can offer. Not only does AltSpace offering simulated spaces for convening virtually, but VR is far more interactive and immersive than our current video conferencing platforms.

For example, an anthropology professor could lead their class through a virtual museum of ancient Egyptian artifacts and take their students collaborate with them. A chemistry teacher could have their students mix different substances together and the virtual concoction would react exactly like information technology would in real life. The possibilities are endless.

For now, AltSpaceVR — and other social VR platforms — are mainly focused on fostering friendships and encouraging networking events, simply with the cost of VR headsets plummeting, information technology's not too far-fetched to say the Quest could potentially get a new portal for remote teaching and learning. Personally, I can't wait to go out behind the 2d video conferencing world filled with Brady Bunch-like boxes of participants and endless "you're muted!" warnings.

Kimberly Gedeon, property a Principal's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire'southward business organisation trounce in 2022. She loved translating stuffy stories nigh the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, piece of cake-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of colour. During her fourth dimension on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. Afterward 8 years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally constitute a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!