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The ethical problems that have plagued the development of AI provide insight into the types of ethical conversations that virtual reality creators need to be having now, before it’s too late.

It could be years until we have solid scientific backing to fully understand what goes on in human minds when they enter a virtual world. It could be even longer until multi-user experiences are considered safe.

Most virtual reality creators are not aware of the power their content can have. A wider discussion needs to be had about our responsibility as both creators who make experiences and as academics who provide information on the new medium of virtual reality.

When Ivan Sutherland created the first Head-Mounted Display (HMD), the “Sword of Damocles System,” in 1968, he propelled the field of visual illusions into the digital realm. With that, he created a new area of computer science: virtual reality. A half-century later, this field is still in flux. We are still in the wild, uncharted waters of what this technology can do, both in terms of hardware and software. Now is the time to be talking about the risks.

Gabriel Mugar is a Senior Design Researcher at IDEO and co-author (with Eric Gordon) of the book "Meaningful Inefficiencies: Civic Design in an Age of Digital Expediency,” published by Oxford University Press. He recently spoke with All Tech is Human’s Andrew Sears about the ethical challenges in public-sector innovation, the role of design in fostering civic trust, and other timely topics.

The Radical AI Podcast is hosted by Rev. Dylan Doyle-Burke and Jessie J. Smith. Dylan is a former minister and current Religious Studies PhD student at the University of Denver implementing Religious Studies methodology into user-centered technology design practices. Jess is a CS and Information Science PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder researching ML and AI ethics with an emphasis on multi-stakeholder algorithmic fairness and transparency.

Raina Kumra is a partner at The Fund LA, an early stage venture fund, and the CEO of Juggernaut, a brand movement agency and organizational change bureau. She recently launched a Tech Ethics course on LinkedIn Learning and previously led strategy and investments for the Technology Ethics portfolio at Omidyar Network. Raina spoke with All Tech is Human’s Andrew Sears about the role that venture capitalists play in the tech ethics ecosystem, the relationship between ethics and human-centered design, and more.