This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.

Specification:

IB DP TOK themes & AOKs Technology, Human sciences, Knowledge & the knower, Religion

Relevant BQ Perspectives

Key terms and ideas Virtual worlds, Artificial vs genuine, Techno-philosophy, Extended minds, Exo-cortex

Investigating Issues The metaverse

Exhibition prompt IAP-23 (tools)

Click to read the article below and then answer the questions:

David Chalmers: ‘We are the gods of the virtual worlds we create’

Chalmers is all over the media at the moment, indicating his influence within the new field of ‘techno-philosophy’ and why his ideas are worth knowing. You can jump to the section of the interview dealing with the metaverse.

  • Why is Chalmers a lot more positive about this than other commentators?

  • What is an exo-cortex, and what are the dangers associated with these for us as knowers of the world?

  • What is Chalmers’ ‘five-point’ checklist to evaluate whether something is real — and how effective does this seem?

  • Overall, do you agree with his assertion that virtual reality is genuine reality?

Michael Dunn, theoryofknowledge.net

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section

Follow the topics in this article

Comments