No doubt technology is a great help to us in our daily lives, allowing our tasks to be completed more easily and conveniently. However, is there a point where we clearly cross the line from technology being assistive to being an obsession? Surely this wont be the first time I ask this question, and it also won’t be the first time anyone raises the subject.

I decided to touch on this subject owing to a video I recently saw of a korean lady “re-uniting” with her deceased daughter in virtual reality (The link to the video is https://youtu.be/uflTK8c4w0c and the original coverage is here https://sg.theasianparent.com/mum-reunites-with-deceased-daughter-through-vr?utm_source=rss-feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed ). According to MBC, the tv station that produced it as part of a documentary, the production team took eight months to develop the VR simulation, involving motion capture technology to record the movements of a child actor that they could later use as a model for their virtual Nayeon, and reproduced her voice. They also designed a virtual park based on the one that the mother and daughter frequently go to – as the background location. The whole documentary is a tear-jerker from beginning to end. Not only do you see the mother’s reaction to seeing the VR daughter, but also the interaction and the end scene where the VR daughter turns into a butterfly and fly off. The mother remarked how she knows that the VR representation is not 100% her daughter, but she ‘feels’ it is her and through the VR image she is able to say a final goodbye and move on.

This documentary reminded me of a Youtube video I saw long ago (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zstMWbTJbxk produced by Viddsee) where after her daughter passed away in an accident, the father’s only link to her was the daughter’s customized phone message. The importance of the message was shown when the telephone company deleted the message after an upgrade, the father was distraught and felt truly alone. Luckily, the telephone company in the video had good conscience and went out of their way to help the father and he once again had this link with his daughter.

Some say the VR reunion is crossing the line – not only is this making people remember the past, it may also devolve into a form of obsession? The mother in the documentary knows the VR is not an accurate representation of the daughter, but through the experience, she is able to have a means to say a final goodbye to her and to let go of the sorrows. As for the father in the youtube video, the limitations of the technology together with him knowing his daughter passed on, means he can accept things the way they are. However, not all people are as understanding as them. What happens if the pain is too deep to let go? What would someone like that do just to see a lost love one again? Will it become an alternate form of addition – that of memory?

As technology continue to advance forward, techniques are being created that emulate the human condition evermore accurately via perception of the five senses. Many of these are useful assisting in the physical well-being of patients, from prosthetics to regenerating damaged body functions. Yet what about the psychological? How closely we allow these technology to intertwine with our private and sentimental lives? Do we let technology into the most intimate of our lives similar the Black Mirror episode “Be Right Back”? Maybe what we need are clear parameters or conditions in which the technology can be used if it involves interfacing with our personal lives.

These are ethical issues we have to consider while implementing new technology, and it may be better to have clear guidelines before moving forward. That being said, in our lives, it is inevitable that we experiences that bring sadness or regret. We definitely had thoughts such “could I have done better?” or “had I knew, I would have done it differently”. The applications shown in the two cases help  bring closure to their past, lighten the burden and move forward.

Were you moved by the stories? If you were in their shoes, what would you have done?