Rethinking Immersive Virtual Reality and Empathy

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the use of empathy in immersive virtual reality, highlighting its flaws and proposing rational compassion as a better alternative for societal benefit.

Contribution

It challenges the focus on empathy in VR research and suggests new directions emphasizing rational compassion and alternative outcome measures.

Findings

Empathy has significant flaws that may lead to negative outcomes.

Designing for rational compassion could be more effective.

New research directions and outcome measures are proposed.

Abstract

In this position paper, we aim to spark more discussions surrounding the use of empathy as the intended outcome of many studies on immersive virtual reality experiences. As a construct, empathy has many significant flaws that may lead to unintended and negative outcomes, going against our original goal of employing these technologies for the betterment of society. We highlight the possible advantages of designing for rational compassion instead, and propose alternative research directions and outcome measurements for immersive virtual reality that urgently warrant our attention.