Human 9

It is widely accepted in the VR community and among ethicists that users should be able to exit a virtual reality experience easily and immediately if they become frightened or uncomfortable. While a user can physically remove their headset, relying solely on this action as the primary safety mechanism is considered inadequate for ethical design. Here’s why, from an ethical and design perspective: Physiological Response When a person is genuinely frightened or panicking, their fine motor skills and ability to think rationally are often impaired. Fumbling to find a headset strap release or power button can be difficult in a state of distress. Accessibility and Immediate Action An easily accessible, intuitive, and consistent "exit button" (often a specific controller button press, like holding down the menu button) provides a quick, reliable way to instantly stop the frightening stimuli. This is a fundamental accessibility and safety feature, much like an emergency stop button ...

In the previous post we outlined  key legislation relating to laws designed to protect women and young girls, derived from EU directives and UK legislation (both historical and more recent). We will now look specifically at Meta Quest's own safety design policies as we ask..  Does VR design adequately (and as a standard) protect women and girls from virtually embodied ‘physical’ and psychological harms?  To answer this we begin by examining Metaquests design standards. Clearly it will be necessary to look at other VR development platforms but Meta is one of the most used, and financially accessible platforms and so it seems like a good starting point. As we do so,  we will think about psychological and physical harms women experience as part of their lived experience in everyday life as we ask, are these requirements adequately protective?    We ask...  Are women protected by meta while online when using their different platforms?  Looking at VR, ...

I n mimicing the real world, new significant concerns have been raised relating to 'physical' virtual assault taking place in virtual reality (VR).  The psychological trauma is akin to that of physical-world assaults even though there is abscence of physical contact.  Legally this raises grave concerns about how to adjudicate the psychological impact of virtual assault and assess the level of emotional and psychological distress that occurs in the victim of assault, when embodied in the virtual experience.  In previous journal posts, we have considered coercive control and how this can lead to physical assault. We established that there is an unusually high level of female learners in healthcare, 1 in 3 females experience domestic abuse within their intimate personal relationships, and legislation and policy supporting safe learning environments is integral to training and development within healthcare.  We now move to examine the space between 'real' and 'virtual a...

The diagram illustrates the specific psychological tactics deployed in the cycle of coercive control enacted by coercive controllers to control women (in heterosexual relationships that statistically identifies that the dominant partner is male), in unhealthy intimate relationships. Each tactic will be considered in relation to dark pattern user experience design, in the journal posts that follow. Both screen based and HMD VR applications will be deconstructed and examined in turn.  Context : systems within systems - disjointed attitudes beliefs, values and behaviour...  1. Consumerist society  2. Patriarchal systems - Designed by men to benefit men  3. Misogyntic attitudes - hatred of women due to poor early caregivers / early intimate relationship experience / misogynistic fathers / influence of patriarchal systems etc and their fear of the loss of power and status.  4. Dehumanisation of women 5. Commodification of women  6. Consumption of women for labou...

User experience designers, design apps that are are ethical, provide a good experience and. build trust ... but not always. Whether intentional or not, apps can perform in unethical and potentially abusive ways.  Dark patterns of user experience design trick users into behaving in ways that they would not, if they were consciously aware of what they are doing and why.  UX designers are not consciously intending to deploy dark pattern user experience design. They are not necessarily deliberately trying to control users with malicious intent; however, sometimes the apps they design may not give the user full control or seek full consent. Ux designers may just not be fully aware that they are designing apps with user experiences which are unethical or non-consensual, because their own world experience differs substantially from their users.  The risk is when there is unintentional coercive control stemming from UX designers being unaware of a users physical and psychological...

In this post, we will discuss how a womans sense of safety is impacted on in various different ways. We are examining this to inform how we might develop a virtual safe space, and so that it may be possible to produce a design grounded in actual lived experience.  Womens's safety load, refers to the significant mental burden women carry due to consistent vigilance, taking preventative measures against potential threats like assault or harassment in public spaces.  This includes strategizing routes, assessing risks (e.g., keeping keys as weapons, avoiding earphones), and dealing with societal expectations, all while navigating daily activities like walking home or using public transport. This encompasses physical safety (avoiding danger) and workplace safety (unequal risks with tools/PPE, shift work), highlighting the everyday awareness and actions women take to feel secure, driven by higher risks of violence and the need to manage their environment proactively. Key Aspects of ...

Male developers generally exceed women developers, 80/20 percent in digital development teams.  This imbalance can be problematic in terms of design. Male  users are unconsciously designed for, not deliberately of course as developers want to deliver great digital products, but it can happen by default. Gender bias is a significant and pervasive issue in digital product development. This bias often results in products and services that overlook, underrepresent, or even harm women and gender-diverse individuals, impacting everything from user experience to fundamental safety and access to opportunities.  Key Areas and Examples of Gender Bias Gender bias seeps into digital products through various stages of development, from the initial design assumptions to data collection and algorithmic training.  Algorithmic and Data Bias: AI and machine learning models are trained on vast datasets, which often reflect historical and societal biases. Hiring Tools: Amazon's experime...