Augmented Reality Games Like Pokémon Go Need a Code of Ethics—Now; Wired, 8/11/16

Katherine Cross, Wired; Augmented Reality Games Like Pokémon Go Need a Code of Ethics—Now:

"THE WORLD IS full of Pokémon now. This should not be cause for moral panic, but celebration. Contrary to a few handwringing editorials and Twitter hot takes, Pokémon Go is not a triumph of the normalization of violence, the apotheosis of cell-phone zombification, or even gamification gone awry. Amid the neo-Luddite contrarianism, a shining truth rises above all the (Magi-)carping: Pokémon Go comes in peace. But it raises profound questions about ethics in this new overlaid world of augmented reality...

Meanwhile, there are news reports that cannot be dismissed as ironically viral Luddism: Koffing appearing at the National Holocaust Museum, for instance, or women being sexually harassed as they play, or the risk posed to young black players in the US by trigger-happy police officers.

The suddenness of Pokémon Go’s mass popularity signals that a technological revolution is upon us, and it is past time for an industry-wide set of ethical standards for augmented reality."