Convergence08: PJ Manney on empathy and technology

Studies show that violent video games have a measurable impact on the user's empathetic awareness; they are making us less sensitive to the needs of our fellow humans.

Transhumanists and technophiles alike are having a hard time getting their message out -- it's a very niche audience. The question, then, is what do we need to focus on to increase that empathetic response, to get people to better listen to one other.

[PJ concludes her opening comments and facilitates a discussion]

Key comments from the discussion

• We do in fact need to make a concerted effort to create meaningful games without the violence and to popularize them; increase access to "casual games"
  
• How do we infiltrate the culture of the 'other' and teach them to think more about what they're perpetrating or what the circumstances are of their actions.
  
• Serious Games are games where you can actually play about serious world changing issues in real world scenarios. PJ suggests that this realness could be a meaningful step in the right direction -- the intensity is maintained, as is the human connection.
• Role playing, whether it be in the gaming world or elsewhere, can impact on our empathetic sensibilities; it would be interesting to generate a character for yourself that is a person you wouldn't want to be so that it can enhance your ability to project outside yourself
  
• Interfaces can often act as a psychological obstacle
• We should distinguish between technological and psychological techniques
• One thing we can do is work to increase shared values which increases shared belief. This in turn leads to an enhanced sense of identity and community.
  
• Enabling factors -- promote a shared value.
• Realism versus fantasy -- the more unreal something is, the less we can relate to it.
• PJ says we get a better empathetic sense from the written world than the visual.
• Switching characters at random may force you to project outside yourself
• Personal subjectivity will also have an impact on how exposure to violence will manifest
• Escapism may also have an impact on a sense of empathy
• Tweaking mirror neurons
• Meditative technologies and projection practices
  
• Outsider<->Insider; mimic the other
• EQ
• Book: The General Theory of Love
• Empathy is a practice; it's a muscle that needs to be used
  
• Narcissists don't read novels)