The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is already starting to change the world. Advances in AI have made it possible to completely transform the user experience, and the demand is only growing. With the rising popularity of virtual reality (VR) headsets, more users are being introduced to this revolutionary technology at an earlier age. Research shows there are around 171 million people currently using VR worldwide, and out of those users, the vast majority are teenagers or younger. 

Over the past year, technology companies such as Meta began lowering the age restrictions for its VR apps to reach younger audiences, and while there are some restrictions in place now to ensure the safe use of these devices, this technology still poses a major threat to these audiences. The use of Virtual Reality technology can be beneficial for children if used responsibly, however, more action needs to be taken to better protect these audiences from the dangers of this disruptive technology. 

Online Safety in the Digital Age 

VR is not new.

The idea of using VR has been studied since the 1990s. Fast forward to today, healthcare companies, schools, and households are all harnessing AI-powered technology, and younger audiences are among some of the most frequent users. 

All technology generally has both positive and negative benefits to society, and VR headsets are no different. For example, new modes of learning delivery certainly should result in more effective education and children who enjoy the process more than traditional schooling.

Rather than just reading about a subject, a child can enjoy a fully immersive and interactive experience that can be much more enjoyable and effective than traditional methods.

On the other hand, many raise concerns about the safety and privacy of these devices. Many VR apps have already taken certain precautions to prohibit the unsafe use of these devices by children. Some of these restrictions involve requiring preteen’s parental approval to set up an account or young users only seeing apps and content rated for the pre-teenager age group. However, as previously mentioned, these limitations – while a good starting point – are not going to solve all the safety concerns that parents and guardians have with children using these apps. 

Identifying Friend from Foe

The age changes being made to these devices make children fall victim to nefarious individuals. VR represents a world that requires a nuanced understanding of potential threats because the cues that exist in the physical world can be more easily masked in VR. More specifically, the time spent in these connected worlds is a largely invisible experience, which causes serious issues when identifying friends from foes.

Pre-teenagers developmentally are less equipped to detect a threat to their physical or emotional well-being which requires this more nuanced understanding. Similarly, pre-teens are simply less intellectually and emotionally developed than older children. This presents an even larger risk to those in that younger age group.

Strangers in cyberspace can more easily impersonate “friendly” actors in VR, and that, combined with the lack of sophistication required for pre-teens to detect this, means a much bigger threat to all children – especially those who are younger. Additionally, pre-teens can be exposed to inappropriate and violent content without teachers or guardians being fully aware. There are also privacy concerns associated with VR devices. Several apps can collect data on users, such as eye movement and facial recognition, which many parents or guardians may not be comfortable with. For all of these reasons, there needs to be a better way to protect children when they are actively using these devices. 

A Better Path Forward to Securing the Metaverse 

The answer to this growing problem will undoubtedly lie in the involvement of parental figures.

Very strong controls around identity and content that children interact with must be implemented to protect them. More specifically, to protect children, all persons in the “spaces” that they interact in must have strongly authenticated and verified identities that can assert their relationship to the child, as well as assert permitted attributes that parents must approve before being allowed to interact with children.

For example, the real identity of the person and relationship to the child must be approved. 

Furthermore, the VR equipment itself must have controls to ensure that the person presently wearing it is an authentic and verified individual to whom the account belongs to prevent impersonation. Concerning content, strong controls around the age-appropriateness and classification of it must be implemented. This can be aided by AI to automatically detect and classify malicious content. All of these restrictions combined can better safeguard both children and pre-teens from the dangers of these devices. 

AI poses immense challenges for user security, most of which we are only beginning to understand.

Looking ahead, running age-appropriate and safe virtual experiences will become one of the most important challenges facing the world. As the popularity of VR devices continues to grow, particularly among younger audiences, both companies and parental figures will need to consider implementing strong controls. Once the security and identity threat is under control, only then can we begin to truly protect the health and safety of younger audiences in the metaverse. 

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post To Help or To Harm: the Potential for Virtual Reality to Shape Future Generations appeared first on AiThority.

UAE is a beautiful nation with beaches, Arabic culture, and super-expensive brands. Besides this, it is also essential for being a hub for Indian tech businesses, and Abu Dhabi, the capital city, takes it seriously. India and UAE have a robust trade relationship from export & import to talent & a rich cultural exchange. Research states that it is crucial to help UAE become a center of excellence for tech research & innovation. Al Qubaisi, the CEO of Aerospace, says that for Indian-based startups and worldwide, this is the best time to have a base in Abu Dhabi, which will have a tremendous digital transformation that has invested in growing innovation & business at rapid speed.

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With technology moving at such a fast-pace, it becomes essential for your business to remain upgraded to remain in the competition. Mobile apps are one such tech that can serve your needs and deliver a better service to your clients. It can take you ahead in the digital world and boost your brand awareness, thus your conversion rates. If you are into health or gaming, AR/VR apps and AI can increase your operational performance. Imagine your users playing your games on mobiles with a fantastic AR experience. Technology can do such wonders provided the company providing it is trustworthy and experienced. Hyperlink InfoSystem is one such famous and reputed company for all your IT solutions and listed as #1 app developers in UAE by leading B2B Listing platforms like TopAppDevelopmentCompanies.com and many more.

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Founded in 2011, Hyperlink InfoSystem was established in India, and expanded its offices in the UAE, UK, USA, and Australia. It has developed over 3,200 apps, 1,600 websites for 2,300 clients worldwide and served over 900 clients from the Middle East region alone. With over 9 years of experience in the industry and a team of skilled developers, the company has successfully satisfied its clients. The company’s IT services include web & app development, AI/ML, AR/VR apps, IoT solutions, Data Science, Blockchain, Salesforce, and more.

Founder & CEO of Hyperlink InfoSystem, Harnil Oza, says, “Hyperlink InfoSystem envisions to deliver an exceptional customer service and at the most cost-effective rate. The company commenced its operations with only a few members, and now we are over 250 employees providing IT services to our clients. Our relationship with the UAE has always been amicable, and we further wish to have a long-term relationship with them.”

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Newly Launched Cross-Platform Content Management System (CMS) for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Projected as a ‘Game Changer’ for Future of Content

While Virtual Reality — a fully simulated experience — and Augmented Reality— the art of overlaying simulation onto a real-world environment — are becoming increasingly utilized within the business and school setting, these technologies are still very much in their early days, and many apps that are being developed are designed exclusively for a single platform or a single usage. This introduces a problem for businesses and schools that want to engage with audiences who are using the ever-growing selection of AR and VR devices available on the market.

With revolutionary technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality becoming more widely adopted by the education and business communities across the world, the need for dedicated content management systems to facilitate content creation for AR and VR is more urgent than ever. And while many have introduced systems for either AR or VR devices, the experienced team behind Fectar Studio has become one of the first in the world to launch a full, cross-platform solution along with the accompanying app.

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Trialed in the Netherlands throughout 2019, Fectar Studio’s innovative no-coding cross-platform publishing solution has been readily adopted by schools, universities and business users, with hundreds signing up in just three months.

Now available to educational institutions and other organizations worldwide, the cloud-based Fectar Studio platform enables content creators to publish interactive AR and VR presentations to Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, as well as to VR devices including Oculus GO, and Oculus Quest.

Eugène Kuipers, CEO and Founder of Fectar says, “AR and VR just got easy. Within just a few weeks of our initial launch in 2019, the level of interest and adoption was astounding. Schools and business users alike have been quick to embrace the incredible potential of augmented and virtual reality and deploy Fectar Studio and our app to create and view beautiful and engaging presentations using AR and VR.

There are plans to introduce compatibility with more devices such as the HTC Vive within the coming months.

Fectar Studio also differentiates itself from other content management systems through improved features and functionality. While the recent trend has been for CMS tools to offer content only, Fectar Studio provides users with more options, such as the addition of buttons, hyperlinks, questions, navigation, audio, and more to create engaging interactive 3D AR/VR content. It also allows users to track how their creations are being used with easy to access statistical data.

Eugène added, “We’ve already witnessed fantastic results, especially in the education field. A number of our users reported double-digit increases in revenue and reductions in training costs while simultaneously reaching a whole new level of customer and student engagement. We really are at the start of a new era of content creation, and we’re confident this is a true game-changer for the industry.”

A further obstacle that has shown to be standing in the way of AR and VR content success is the need for businesses and educational content creators/publishers to utilize an in-house or outsourced development team to change their content. Fectar directly addresses this concern with a CMS, Fectar Studio, which can be managed without any technical skills. Designed by a team of multiple award-winning developers, creatives, and serial entrepreneurs, the simple system can be used easily by anyone.

Fectar Studio is already being widely adopted within the education, media and design, manufacturing, retail, marketing and sales, and real estate sectors, with many other industries showing interest in the unique CMS and app. The Fectar team is currently offering free weekly online courses for content creators across all industries, providing them with the knowledge they need to get started with the CMS.

Founded in 2018 by entrepreneurs Eugène Kuipers, Rens Lensvelt and Dennis de Laat,  Fectar’s CMS is dedicated to implementing augmented reality built with Microsoft technologies.

Seeing the potential to incorporate more platforms, the team’s first app, SpotOn.io, was launched in August 2019, offering quality augmented and virtual reality experiences for each user.

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