Interview with K. Guillory, known online as Aemeth

Interview with K. Guillory, known online as Aemeth, documenting culture in virtual spaces https://www.themetaculture.co/

Are you fundamentally different as a person because of your ongoing experiences in AR/VR?

Absolutely. I first came to VR because I sadly had a friend pass away, and felt immersive therapy would help me with overcoming that grief. Over the course of three years, I powered through it, developed a better sense of self, and eventually overhauled who I was and learned a few life lessons along the way. I’m far better than I ever was before, and I think I owe part of that to the journey I’ve made through this platform.

How do the relationships you create in AR/VR compare to real-life relationships? Are they more controllable/easier to begin or leave? More satisfying?

Nothing relationship-based is ever more controllable than its real-life counterpart. That’s the thing no one realizes when they log in to virtual reality. I think people often come to VR with this misconception, probably because video games make you feel like you’re put in a relationship simulator, and that in turn makes you feel like if you push the right button or say the right thing, the person you’re interacting with will give you the desired outcome you’re seeking. Even when you feel you’re conscious of this and don’t actively approach other people that way, it can still be tempting to slip into that mindset.

Relationships are exactly the same as real life and people can react the same way. They can be kind, they can be loving, they can be antagonistic or selfish. They can struggle with personal problems and they can start fights with everyone they meet. And somewhere in that digital sea is the friend that’s going to be right for you and be there for you. There are diamonds everywhere you look, but you’ve got to sift to find them no matter where you are.

In your opinion, could extensive VR usage become problematic?

It’s about as problematic as any other vice that takes you away from your life and makes you ignore responsibilities. If I drank in moderation, that’s just a fun time. If I did drugs to constantly be in a state of bliss, then I’m not noticing the real-life issues piling up outside my front door. If I get into clubbing in real life and don’t pay attention to anything else, then I’m probably not earning enough money at my actual job to pay my bills. Pointing the finger at the latest technology isn’t always the best way to address the underlying problem: addiction and escapism, which can manifest with anything. Remember the trope of the absentee father who’s always playing golf rather than spending time with his family?

Does AR/VR supplement or supplant your real life?

It depends on the area of my life the tech might replace! Currently, I engage with augmented reality to explore how I can create digital makeup for use on social media apps like Tiktok. One day, I think we’re going to see digital makeup filters take off in its own micro-industry; I hand-draw my makeup so that’s a way I like to supplant my love of it, rather than going to Sephora and spending a ton on palettes.

Virtual reality is something I also use to get dancing and keep my cardio up. I lost forty pounds dancing away in virtual clubs so far, but since then I’ve also purchased some real-life equipment to support my routine.

In real life, the art community near me is fun but not quite what I’m used to (I’m originally from Detroit, where the art community is pretty vivacious). Engaging with art in VR supplants that part of my life that’s missing, since it’s too much to drive to another city just to visit a lively gallery.

Would you live permanently in AR/VR if you could?

Dear god, no. My life is an amalgamation of living and experiencing so many things at once. I don’t think people realize that about me, actually. I retreat inward a lot, but also reach out to find things that are inspiring and motivating–but sometimes that motivation leads me to do things like visit parks, sit by the ocean, or just want to run outside and stare at a crow hawing away on a branch on a chilly autumn day.

But then there are other places. Worlds that exist in nothing but text. I filter through those and run through rooms that twist and extend from themselves like the roots of a plant. There are weird communities online I like to sift through, there are niche places on blog sites where people are weird in a unique way, there’s someone screaming about spaceship design in sci-fi films on twitter, small communities of artists taking beautiful photography that I can only access if I make a private twitter account to train the algorithm to find them.

The answer isn’t “no” because I reject augmented or virtual reality, the answer is “no” because I have a need to be everywhere, and I am acutely aware of how little time I have to find as much as possible.