‘Virtual reality is genuine reality’ so embrace it, says philosopher

‘There’s no good reason to think that life in VR will be meaningless or valueless,’ says Chalmers. Photograph: Aleksandr Zamuruiev/Alamy

It is hard to imagine humans spending their lives in virtual reality when the experience amounts to waving your arms about in the middle of the lounge with a device the size of a house brick strapped to your face.

But this is where humanity is heading, says the philosopher David Chalmers, who argues for embracing the fate. Advances in technology will deliver virtual worlds that rival and then surpass the physical realm. And with limitless, convincing experiences on tap, the material world may lose its allure, he says.