Say what you will about porn, but it has undeniably affected the development of the Internet. There from the start, porn has led to pioneering improvements in streaming video, online payment systems, and other features of e-commerce. Now, for a number of years, the industry has turned its focus to virtual reality and has been one of the principal engines of the spread and further innovation of this technology.
This link between VR and porn has not gone unnoticed by the public. 'VR porn' is the #1 search item that’s associated with virtual reality, found a study by VRPorn.com. In other words, if you are searching for virtual reality, chances are you are searching for VR porn. The site VRPorn.com is, in fact, the top VR site by monthly visits, beating out Oculus.com, which sells the top equipment technology associated with VR—the Oculus Rift headset.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Brian Shuster, the CEO of HoloGirls VR, a top studio for VR porn content, sees this dominance by the porn industry in the VR sector as natural since the producers of VR porn can “innovate and develop filming and CG techniques for a real customer base, and the result is that VR porn companies are years ahead of non-adult companies in our understanding of what customers want in VR, and how to create it. In turn, VR porn is the biggest thing in adult entertainment since the Internet itself.”
(Credit: VRporn.com)
The New York Times reported that according to the statistics from the porn juggernaut Pornhub.com, it averages about 500,000 views of VR porn on a daily basis. The numbers have shot up 275 percent since the feature debuted in 2016. And some days, like on Christmas, the numbers go up even more dramatically, as shows this graphic from Pornhub:
Porn will be the third largest section of VR by 2025, says a report from the investment and management firm Piper Jaffray. Video games and NFL content would be the only two industries ahead. Certainly, not many would be surprised if it turned out that porn was, in fact, the largest such VR section in the near future.
“Sex sells, and where there is money to be made, there will be entrepreneurs who want to adopt it and make money from it,” said Mark Kernes, senior editor at AVN Media Network that covers the industry, in an interview with The New York Times. He added that one way VR will spread will be for free, as some creators will offer it that way to increase clicks.
As the reprinting of erotica helped popularize the early printing press, porn looks to drive innovation with virtual reality. Mr. Kernes is confident this is already happening, adding, “I’m pretty sure there is more porn VR out there than regular VR.”
If you’re wondering where VR is most popular, Thailand and Hong Kong appear to lead the way, report Pornhub statistics for 2017:
Among U.S. states, the greatest growth in VR porn popularity has been in Eastern states like New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Why does porn seem like a good fit for VR? Virtual reality has been called the “empathy machine” for its ability to connect people to the action. The goal of a virtual reality sex experience is to make the viewer feel like they are there in the room, participating in the scene. Somatic psychologist Holly Richmond called this connection “neurological”.
You aren’t just watching and thinking about it,” explained Richmond. “You are feeling it, and it’s not just your genitals. There is literally a mind-body connection.”
2016 Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. (Photo credit: JOHN M. GLIONNA/AFP/Getty Images)
Some worry that combining VR and sex will open up new avenues for abuse. Bryony Cole, host of the Future of Sex podcast, thinks there will be new lines to consider:
“What are the lines between reality and fantasy and what can we do in this space?” asked Ms. Cole. “What does consent mean in virtual reality? Can you do something to your girlfriend in virtual reality that you wouldn’t do in real life? If you are using someone’s likeness in virtual reality, do you require their permission? And what about revenge porn? That will be even harsher in virtual reality,” she says to the Times.
And what would cheating mean in the age of VR if, let’s say, you are caught in a VR space with an exact reproduction of somebody other than your significant other? While the VR technology is sure to continue to change us and offer us new challenges in exchange for new possibilities, one thing is for sure: porn will be a part of its future.
U.S. Navy ships
The U.S. Navy controls patents for some futuristic and outlandish technologies, some of which, dubbed "the UFO patents," came to light recently. Of particular note are inventions by the somewhat mysterious Dr. Salvatore Cezar Pais, whose tech claims to be able to "engineer reality." His slate of highly-ambitious, borderline sci-fi designs meant for use by the U.S. government range from gravitational wave generators and compact fusion reactors to next-gen hybrid aerospace-underwater crafts with revolutionary propulsion systems, and beyond.
Of course, the existence of patents does not mean these technologies have actually been created, but there is evidence that some demonstrations of operability have been successfully carried out. As investigated and reported by The War Zone, a possible reason why some of the patents may have been taken on by the Navy is that the Chinese military may also be developing similar advanced gadgets.
Among Dr. Pais's patents are designs, approved in 2018, for an aerospace-underwater craft of incredible speed and maneuverability. This cone-shaped vehicle can potentially fly just as well anywhere it may be, whether air, water or space, without leaving any heat signatures. It can achieve this by creating a quantum vacuum around itself with a very dense polarized energy field. This vacuum would allow it to repel any molecule the craft comes in contact with, no matter the medium. Manipulating "quantum field fluctuations in the local vacuum energy state," would help reduce the craft's inertia. The polarized vacuum would dramatically decrease any elemental resistance and lead to "extreme speeds," claims the paper.
Not only that, if the vacuum-creating technology can be engineered, we'd also be able to "engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level," states the patent. This would lead to major advancements in aerospace propulsion and generating power. Not to mention other reality-changing outcomes that come to mind.
Among Pais's other patents are inventions that stem from similar thinking, outlining pieces of technology necessary to make his creations come to fruition. His paper presented in 2019, titled "Room Temperature Superconducting System for Use on a Hybrid Aerospace Undersea Craft," proposes a system that can achieve superconductivity at room temperatures. This would become "a highly disruptive technology, capable of a total paradigm change in Science and Technology," conveys Pais.
High frequency gravitational wave generator.
Credit: Dr. Salvatore Pais
Another invention devised by Pais is an electromagnetic field generator that could generate "an impenetrable defensive shield to sea and land as well as space-based military and civilian assets." This shield could protect from threats like anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles that evade radar, coronal mass ejections, military satellites, and even asteroids.
Dr. Pais's ideas center around the phenomenon he dubbed "The Pais Effect". He referred to it in his writings as the "controlled motion of electrically charged matter (from solid to plasma) via accelerated spin and/or accelerated vibration under rapid (yet smooth) acceleration-deceleration-acceleration transients." In less jargon-heavy terms, Pais claims to have figured out how to spin electromagnetic fields in order to contain a fusion reaction – an accomplishment that would lead to a tremendous change in power consumption and an abundance of energy.
According to his bio in a recently published paper on a new Plasma Compression Fusion Device, which could transform energy production, Dr. Pais is a mechanical and aerospace engineer working at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), which is headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland. Holding a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Pais was a NASA Research Fellow and worked with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. His current Department of Defense work involves his "advanced knowledge of theory, analysis, and modern experimental and computational methods in aerodynamics, along with an understanding of air-vehicle and missile design, especially in the domain of hypersonic power plant and vehicle design." He also has expert knowledge of electrooptics, emerging quantum technologies (laser power generation in particular), high-energy electromagnetic field generation, and the "breakthrough field of room temperature superconductivity, as related to advanced field propulsion."
Suffice it to say, with such a list of research credentials that would make Nikola Tesla proud, Dr. Pais seems well-positioned to carry out groundbreaking work.
A craft using an inertial mass reduction device.
Credit: Salvatore Pais
The patents won't necessarily lead to these technologies ever seeing the light of day. The research has its share of detractors and nonbelievers among other scientists, who think the amount of energy required for the fields described by Pais and his ideas on electromagnetic propulsions are well beyond the scope of current tech and are nearly impossible. Yet investigators at The War Zone found comments from Navy officials that indicate the inventions are being looked at seriously enough, and some tests are taking place.
If you'd like to read through Pais's patents yourself, check them out here.
Laser Augmented Turbojet Propulsion System
Credit: Dr. Salvatore Pais
