THE AGE OF IMMERSION

Examining the Personal & Cultural Impact of Being Immersed

Join us Monday morning as we officially kick off IMMERSION 2015 in Paris, France!



Aaron E. Walsh, founding director of the Immersive Education Initiative and Boston College faculty, will deliver the opening keynote address at IMMERSION 2015. Walsh, a world-renowned expert in immersion and immersive technologies, coined the terms "Immersive Education" and "Immersive Illness" and established the field of Immersive Education.



Named one of the most innovative people in the Information Technology (IT) industry by Computerworld, the premier source of news and analysis for the IT industry, Walsh has been featured in a number of leading technology and mainstream publications, including Newsweek and Newsweek International. He has been featured by Entrepreneur magazine, CBS Interactive's business technology news service, and was recently interviewed by Larry King about the staggering applications of 3D printing and the technology's potential to change the world -- for better and worse.



In his opening IMMERSION 2015 keynote address, The Age of Immersion, Walsh will address the personal and cultural impact of immersion and immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), simulations, video games, neurogaming, immersive caves and domes, 3D printing and robotics. His provocative keynote will shine a light on "Immersive Illness," a term that describes mental health issues (such as addiction, alienation, and mental schisms) that may be exhibited by a certain percentage of the population upon prolonged exposure to immersive experiences:

"A challenge that concerns me the most is lurking on the horizon, one we don't yet understand the full scope of. As Immersive Education and other forms of personal Virtual Reality become more realistic and compelling we're going to see "immersive illness" become more common and more difficult to deal with. Although this is an issue today we're somewhat protected by the limitations of today's personal computers and game consoles (they just aren't powerful enough...yet), but in another decade or more it'll be a different story altogether. Nobody knows exactly what impact insanely realistic, media-rich Virtual Reality will have on society. We're already dealing with early forms of immersive illness, such as addiction, alienation, mental schisms, and more, but today it's not a problem that affects a large percentage of users. We don't see massive problems today for a number of reasons, including rather low-quality virtual environments and limitations on how much time we spend in these environments. But what happens when the visual and audio quality becomes indistinguishable from reality, the technology becomes truly mainstream, and a substantial portion of education takes place in such environments and not in a real classroom? With massive power comes massive problems. Last week I was asked how big this problem will be, and I responded that nobody knows for sure but I'd estimate that the at-risk population can be calculate by adding the percentage of people with addiction problems to the percentage of society that suffer some form of mental illness. That's a big chunk of society. Is it all gloom and doom? Certainly not, but it's a grand challenge we're not even remotely prepared for today. As with other disruptions society will eventually adapt, but I think we're in for a very rough ride." — Walsh, Terranova "Virtual Reality: Another perspective" interview, May 2007

Disney, Google, Smithsonian, and the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) National Parks Service keynotes, featured speakers and workshops at IMMERSION 2015 compliment Walsh's opening address.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about the personal and cultural impact of being immersed as we enter the Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speakers, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.