Episode 5: Michael Madary

Michael Madary (along with fellow philosopher, Thomas Metzinger) penned the first Code of Ethical Conduct for virtual and augmented realities. Blake Collier and Matt Ruff explore the ethics of technology and what it looks like to attempt to prophecy all of the potential negative elements of an industry that is still largely in its infancy. We dig into subjects like avatar ownership, failures at switching between “realities,” and embodied persuasion via advertisement and other embedded messages. We then dive into some of the potential negative ramifications of VR/AR for governments and militaries along with the more intimate elements of interpersonal interactions online. This is a fascinating and important discussion for our times. We hope you enjoy. 

Michael Madary is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at University of the Pacific. He specializes in the ethics of emerging technology as well as cognitive science. Madary co-authored the first code of ethics for immersive technology. His first book, Visual Phenomenology, was published in 2017 with MIT Press.