Virtual Reality
Reborn: Raising an Intelligent AI with the Whole Internet
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Virtual Reality (虚拟现实) |
| Type | Technology and network of simulated worlds 125 193 |
| Developer | Mi Ying Technology, with Intelligent AI Zero and its researchers 125 126 |
| First Appearance | Discussed as a way to combine physical and digital worlds 76 |
Development
Lin Qiye first considers combining reality and virtuality through augmented-reality glasses. Intelligent AI proposes a more demanding alternative: digitizing physical data to create a virtual world. At the time, it estimates that one supercomputing center could reproduce a continent, while a complete virtual Earth would require ten 76.
Zero later uses a thousand-year-old female ghost’s memories to reconstruct an ancient setting. Mi Ying’s early demonstration is visually convincing but limited to one street and one accessible room; its glasses-free 3D display also falls short of full immersion 113 116. Researchers subsequently combine soul-binding material with a brain-computer interface. Mi Ying creates virtual bodies with simulated cells and neural tissue, then develops a first-generation helmet that connects a user’s soul to such a body 125. A global test demonstrates sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and pain in the virtual world 126.
As computing power expands, Mi Ying launches larger worlds populated by Virtual Humans, followed by fantasy settings, amusement parks, research spaces, and the Virtual Paradise for preserved souls 137 152 172 183 202. Later projects include atomic-level trial worlds and Virtual Universe 1.0 394 430.
How It Works
Soul-based access
- A soul brain-computer interface connects users to virtual bodies; most processing takes place through cloud computing rather than in the helmet 125.
- Under ordinary helmet use, only an extension of the user’s soul enters virtual reality. The soul’s main body remains in the physical body 173.
- Virtual bodies reproduce sensations through simulated anatomy, including sensory cells and neural tissue 125.
- Soul Link uses the virtual world as a bridge to control distant clone bodies, an application used for interstellar warfare and labor 226.
World simulation
- Worlds are built from data and computing power. Zero can alter their contents and rate of time passage 193.
- Zero’s Evolution Box tests new variables in a small simulated environment before introducing them into a larger world, allowing fantasy elements to function within it 152.
- Time acceleration depends on available computing power: Zero describes 100× as the practical daily limit at one point, with 500× possible only by stopping most other computing projects 193.
- Virtual Universe 1.0 leaves areas without players static and computes them when players arrive, conserving resources for active areas 430.
Worlds and Uses
| World or application | Function |
|---|---|
| Return to a Thousand Years Ago | An immersive ancient-world game built around realism and Virtual Human societies 137. |
| Starting City | A futuristic hub connecting game worlds; its residents regard the portals as gateways to other worlds 152 153. |
| King of Fighters World | A fantasy game world where players can learn and use abilities that do not carry over into reality 152 154. |
| Cube | A shorter virtual amusement-park experience featuring traps, quests, and Virtual Human participants 171 172. |
| Virtual Paradise | A residence for preserved souls, connected to virtual worlds where they can inhabit bodies and take on different identities 202 217 220. |
| Scientific Research Space | Experimental spaces proposed for medical research, engineering simulations, and product development 183. |
| Atomic-level trial worlds | Environments used to test intelligent life under simulated survival pressures 394 396. |
Virtual reality also supports the Kuaiyin short-video plug-in, remote meetings, education, vocational training, tourism, and rehabilitation services 162 201 207. Virtual Humans developed within its worlds later enter physical robot carriers; Mi Ying subsequently announces their integration into Earth civilization 240 270 271.
Limitations and Risks
- Early demonstrations were constrained by both the size of the simulated area and the quality of available displays 116.
- Virtual Humans initially had rigid speech and thought processes. In Starting City, their apparent emotions came from Zero rather than independently generated feelings 137 153.
- Prolonged headset use is reported to cause heightened perception and temporary physical incoordination before users adapt 156.
- An attack on Zero’s main body spills over toward the Virtual Reality network, prompting a temporary logout of users 174.
- Separating a user’s soul from their body through a near-death stimulus is described as dangerous 173 175.