Drawing on the world of the movie The Matrix, we will discuss why it is important to step out of virtual reality and into the “real” world. It emphasizes that despite the lure of virtual reality, human free will and creative thinking can only be fully realized in the real world.
The world of the movie The Matrix is fascinating. Starting with the idea of what would happen if we created an artificial intelligence (AI) that could think creatively on its own instead of a computer program that could only do what it was programmed to do, the movie follows the development of a mechanical civilization that wages war against humanity, takes over the planet, and eventually controls humans. In virtual reality, humans do not know what the truth is and live in a world made up of only signal stimuli. If Morpheus comes to you and offers you a red pill (reality) and a blue pill (virtual reality), what will you choose?
Before we can decide, we need to make an assumption. You don’t know what kind of world you’ll return to after taking the red pill until you take it, and it doesn’t necessarily look like the one in the Matrix. Because in the Matrix, the reality itself is that a machine civilization controls humans as an energy source, and unredeemed humans are waging a dark war against the machines based in a city called Zion. If you know before you make the choice that this is the only real world where machines rule and humans are chased by machines, why would anyone take the red pill and return to that world? I think that only a few people, like Neo, who are chosen and have a sense of mission, would take this risk and settle for virtual sensations like Cypher. Therefore, we must assume that the real world after taking the red pill is unknown before taking it.
If I had to make this inevitable choice, I would take the red pill to get out of the virtual world and into the “real” world. A virtual world is literally a fictionalized world, whether it’s created by humans or by the machines that control it. It’s an arbitrary space in which developers have created a world that is arbitrarily similar to, or different from, the real world. Staying in that world can be likened to dreaming over and over again without waking up. In virtual reality, such as the world of the Matrix, you are bombarded with sweet stimuli, unaware of the truth, and your body and mind are controlled by other external factors, independent of your will. My senses are transformed into electrical signals, like brain waves.
I believe that the reason why humans were able to distinguish themselves from other animals and plants and form the human race is because humans have free will and a creative mindset. I believe that the unique mindset of each person and the choices and decisions they make with their own free will are what create this civilization. Every hour, we think freely and make orders and actions according to our own will. This is what makes us human in the real world. But in virtual reality, there is no such free will. The thoughts and sensations of each person in a virtual world are controlled, and their behavior is determined by pre-coded algorithms. Even if you perceive yourself to be thinking and acting according to your own will in the virtual world, the perception itself has already been controlled many times by external factors (control programs in virtual reality). In the movie, Agent Smith himself refers to the Matrix world as a zoo. What do we call the virtual world users who live in such a zoo. Can we call them human beings?
I don’t think there is a perfect virtual reality. There is no perfect control because of unexpected and unexpected variables, and we don’t know when and where they will occur, so we always need watchdogs to keep an eye on it. And the watchdogs eliminate the disruptors to keep the virtual world organized. In the Matrix world, Agent Smith is able to move freely from the Matrix to random objects in virtual reality. Consider the person whose body Agent Smith inhabits due to a mutation: the universal person who wants to take the blue pill and live in a virtual world. In a controlled system, this person would take their life in virtual reality for granted. However, they are sacrificing themselves to maintain the overall system, completely against their will. They don’t even realize they’re being sacrificed. Agent Smith also confirms that no virtual world is perfect. The first attempted Matrix world was an all-human world, designed to make everyone live happily ever after without suffering. However, the program was not accepted and all the humans who participated in it died. This suggests that the world cannot exist if humans are only given pleasure. Therefore, the rebuilt virtual world would have added negative emotions such as pain and sadness along with pleasure. This means that virtual worlds are not just a world of joy and pleasure. It’s more like the real world.
There are other aspects to consider when it comes to the impact of virtual reality on our lives. For example, as virtual reality technology advances, it can revolutionize education, therapy, training, and more. Just as modern airplane driving simulations indirectly allow us to practice maneuvers that are similar to real-life situations, virtual reality can improve people’s abilities by providing experiences that are difficult to get in real life. However, it’s important to keep in mind that virtual reality is not a substitute for reality. It’s a supplement, not a substitute for human presence and experience.
Some might argue that virtual reality can be enjoyable because it introduces us to new stimuli that we don’t have in real life. However, this statement requires an assumption. The premise is that you can return to the real world. Experiences that can only be had in the virtual world, compared to the real world, are of course something to be encouraged. For example, modern airplane driving simulations allow you to indirectly practice maneuvers that are similar to the real thing. However, it is a different story when you live in a virtual world and don’t even realize that you are living in a virtual world. What is the point of having second-hand experience in such a virtual reality, and what is the point of living with information that may or may not be the truth from an imperfect world if you live only in it? It is a foolish escape to try to live in a world that is not guaranteed to be pleasant and happy in a system that is outside of its essence.
I believe that human life is essence itself. Essence is not a general phenomenon that is visible to the eye, but its own unchanging nature. Living in a matrix world, ignoring and forgetting the human and human-like reality that lies beyond, and choosing the virtual world created by sensory perception given by electrical signals, is to abandon the reality that is the basis of the existence of the ‘I’. Therefore, choosing the virtual world at the moment of choice is to give up the very existence that creates and expresses the current ‘I’.
The question of choosing between virtual reality and real reality can be interpreted differently depending on the life circumstances of the person asking the question. The choice will be different depending on the environment. If you are satisfied with your current life, even if it is in a virtual reality, you will be more likely to settle for it if you have been programmed to believe that life is enough, and if you are dissatisfied, you will be more likely to choose another life. Like, tragically, suicide. The important point here is whether or not you know at the time the nature of the real world, which is clearly distinct from virtual reality, exists or not. If you do, then your choice would have to be consistent with my argument above.
