In this blog post, I’ll explore the meaning of loneliness through the lens of augmented reality, human identity, and our relationships with others.
When we become deeply immersed in a movie, the tragic story unfolding on screen can sometimes feel as if it’s actually happening in real life. At such moments, the fact that the characters are fictional figures created by a screenwriter no longer seems important. Sometimes, even after the movie ends, the gaze of a character who made us laugh or cry lingers in a corner of our hearts, refusing to fade. So, can we really say that reality and the stories in movies exist in completely different worlds?
Let’s call the objects that clearly exist in reality “substance,” and the forms and properties that can be superimposed upon them “images.” In this context, the relationship between substance and image is similar to that between an actor and a role. In augmented reality, substance takes on the role of an “image” and can behave in ways different from its original form. In this respect, augmented reality is similar to a movie that uses the entire world as its screen. Furthermore, unlike conventional movies where viewers merely observe the world on screen, people in augmented reality can actively participate within that world and even directly influence the objects around them.
Currently available augmented reality technologies construct images by manipulating the information transmitted between human sensory organs and physical objects. For example, wearing glasses equipped with special devices can modulate the light entering the eyes to make images appear that do not actually exist in reality. A prime example is Microsoft’s “HoloLens.” Using this technology, one can transform a room into a battlefield and engage in combat with aliens using laser guns, or build a new world by stacking virtual blocks with one’s own hands.
Furthermore, human perception depends on how the brain processes signals transmitted from the sensory organs. Therefore, if future augmented reality technology reaches a stage where it can precisely control sensory information at the level of the brain and nervous system, images within augmented reality could be perceived as virtually indistinguishable from the sensations experienced with physical objects. Since the characteristics of these images can be freely altered by the scriptwriters who design them, entities within augmented reality will have the freedom to take on virtually any form. Moreover, since images do not need to be superimposed solely onto inanimate objects, they can be applied to people as well, provided the augmented reality system has sufficient computational power. Ultimately, people in augmented reality can transform their appearance—much like an actor playing a role—and become the various beings they once dreamed of being in reality.
However, in a world where anyone can become anything, it is difficult to trust anyone easily. In augmented reality, it is impossible to tell solely through the senses whether the person standing before me is a real entity, an image superimposed upon it, or even an image with no physical basis at all. The same applies when others look at me. Furthermore, since an image can be superimposed onto my own physical self, the boundary between myself and my surroundings can become blurred from the observer’s perspective. If we consider that I, too, am a subject who perceives my own form and nature through my senses, then the distinction between what is “me” and what is not becomes unclear to everyone, including myself. In augmented reality, we may be able to escape the loneliness that arose when life first formed cell membranes to distinguish itself from the outside world. However, at the same time, we may once again face the terror of the state in which we existed indistinguishable from one another in the primordial soup.
Nevertheless, there is a way to discern reality even within augmented reality. This is because if a physical entity exists beneath an image, that entity must necessarily obey the physical laws of reality. The electrons that make up our bodies follow the Pauli Exclusion Principle. Therefore, two different electrons cannot exist in the same quantum state at the same time. Due to this physical constraint, two people who possess physical reality cannot occupy the same location simultaneously. On the other hand, since images do not necessarily have to follow these physical laws, they can freely overlap with other physical entities or images. Therefore, by utilizing this property, we can distinguish whether an object is a physical entity or an image. Of course, it is possible to design an image to behave very similarly to a physical entity. However, there is a fundamental difference: while such rules are created by humans and can be changed at will, the laws of physics cannot be arbitrarily altered by humans.
Therefore, the best way to confirm whether I and another person are distinct, independent entities within augmented reality is to see if we overlap. If, as another person’s hand approaches my location, we both feel the repulsive force acting between us, no one can deny—at that very moment—the fact that two distinct entities exist in the same world. Paradoxically, the fact that humans cannot fundamentally become one frees us from the fear of being alone.
As long as humans are confined to their physical bodies and perceive the world through their senses, it could be argued that we all live within our own augmented realities. While the entity known as “I” is unique, the way each person senses and perceives it varies from person to person; thus, the image of “I” is as diverse as the number of people in the world. We create societies to sense each other’s true selves and live together; within them, we divide roles and form relationships. Yet these are all merely images superimposed upon reality. Ultimately, what can truly satisfy humanity’s fundamental desire to be with others—beyond oneself—is neither ideology nor religion, but rather the very moment when one hand touches another.
