Facebook and Oculus Rift have been the subject of much controversy in the world of PCVR, but it has recently come to light that over 50 million Facebook users’ data has been “breached” by data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica. For those wondering why I included quotations around the word breach, it is because Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have both denied any breach occurred despite evidence of the contrary being provided by conservative Member of Parliament, Damian Collins and whistle-blower, Chris Wylie. I will try to avoid the infamous politics surrounding Cambridge Analytica as best I can, but I feel that it is important to establish just who Cambridge Analytica is in order to convey the gravity of the situation unfolding today.
Many people have begun realizing just how much scrutiny they are under while online, as I’m sure every one of our readers has noticed that ads are more often tailored to your interests than not these days. Personalized ads are freaky, but nothing compares to the monster that is Cambridge Analytica. The data they gather is so complete and defining that they likely know you better than you know yourself. No, that isn’t an exaggeration. In 2012, Dr. Michal Kosinski, the man who originally developed the model that would be reverse-engineered by Cambridge Analytica, said that within 70 “likes” the model knew you better than your friends. Within 150, they knew more than your parents. After 300, they knew more than your partner. With sufficient “likes”, they even knew you better than yourself. I don’t know about you, but I will like and share 20+ posts in the process of my morning constitutional.
What does this have to do with video games, you may be asking? Facebook is driving the Oculus Rift to be the cheapest, most accessible VR headset on the market today. Between the price and the exclusives offered in their “walled garden” online storefront, it can be quite tempting for new buyers to choose a Rift over any other VR headset currently on the market. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these strategies, we see price wars and exclusives all the time in the console gaming market – not to mention Nvidia and AMD’s eternal pissing match in PC gaming. What *is* wrong is the combination of Facebook’s interest in making Oculus Rift the premier social media headset, their development of eye-tracking hardware, and the recent Cambridge Analytica “breach”. It all adds up to unsettling implications reminiscent of an episode of Black Mirror.
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