"The Limits Of Persuasive Realities: Hacking The Brain Stem With VR Marketing Technologies"

I should probably state my biases right up front, I don't much care for the "nudge' people.

From a site we haven't linked to in a while, Silicon Valley Watcher, March 8, 2017:

Successful technologies start life by being good enough to be useful. Could some technologies become unbelievably good at what they do—and become too good to be used?

Todays marketing technologies have improved greatly thanks to all that personal data we constantly give away. And they are about to rocket to a new level.

With the addition of Virtual Reality environments bolstered by artificial intelligence and personalization — it will be possible to create the Dream Marketing Machine.

Prime the Dream Machine with any Brand and it will reliably churn out passionate and emotionally committed customers. You’ll get Fanboys and Fangirls by the stadium-load and for pennies on the dollar that Apple pays in marketing costs.

We could be very close to this Dream Marketing Machine.

At a recent event hosted by SpiritualVR  (photo above) panelist Anastasiya Sharkova said she was deeply moved by her first experience with virtual reality (VR) a title called theBlu:Encounter in which you go eye to eye with a blue whale.

She said the experience was so overwhelming it bypassed all reason and logic. She knew it was all computer generated yet when she looked into eye of the giant she felt a deep emphatic connection with the artificial whale that lasted for days.

And she used a lot less water for the next two weeks.

This scares me. What if the Blue Whale represents a brand such as AT&T and I’m suddenly emotionally bonding with a commercial organization and I can’t control it?
We know VR can affect behavior because it is already used in therapeutic applications treating post traumatic stress disorders.

Persuasive Realities…
Yuval Boger, CEO of open-source VR tech design company Sensics says there is already strong interest in marketing applications. "There are some excellent opportunities to create powerful branded VR experiences."

- But would you willingly agree to a VR experience that you knew was designed to persuade you and manipulate your emotions for commercial gain? And then continue to influence your behavior long after the event?...

...MORE

Some related posts:
Nudge This: "The Algorithmic Self"

The writer,  Frank Pasquale, is a professor of law at the University of Maryland, and is the author of the forthcoming book The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information.

And, on the off chance Bloomberg View's Matt Levine should see this, 38 footnotes!

Nudge This: "The Internet of Things Will Be a Giant Persuasion Machine"
Nudge This: "Yes, You’re Irrational, and Yes, That’s OK"
Behavior: We Are More Rational Than Those who Try To 'Nudge' Us
"Nudge Squad": White House Creating "Behavioral Insights Team" that Will Look for Ways to Subtly Influence People's Behavior to Get Us to All Act "Better"
Nudge Squad.
Sounds like a '70's chimera: Mod Squad meets Esalen Institute.*
Investing: "Have the Behaviorists Gone Too Far?"

And some prior Silicon Valley Watcher posts to which we linked:
"10-Year Study Erases VC 'Smart Money' Claims"
"San Francisco Mystery Google Barge Revealed: It's A VIP Party Boat" (GOOG)
Advice From Silicon Valley's Longest Serving CEO: Do The Hard Things first