I was having a lovely walk, then a thought popped up.
In the Star Trek universe, do people appreciate the effect of this holodeck technology? A technology that can nearly simulate anything you want. If you can give the computer a set of characteristics, the holodeck will generate for you and make it interactive—your wildest dreams are suddenly within reach. You can have unimaginable adventures, craft your perfect little world inside that simulation, do whatever you want there. Indulge yourself however you want. (Imagine those people who have to clean the holodeck after use...)
These supposed limitless possibilities
have to be threaded with care. Holodeck addiction could be
a serious issue. Why go out there to the imperfect, harsh world
while you have a holodeck at home? You can craft your safe haven here, never to be hurt. It's definitely going to be alluring for some people.
There's also another issue—people falling in love with computer-generated characters inside the holodeck. They aren't real,
except in some cases (in the Star Trek universe).
Sure, the way you feel about them is very real. These characters are safe, they will never say the wrong thing, always there to please.
But at the end of the day, it's not real.
Also, as these holodeck characters get more sophisticated, it becomes a bit murky and potentially dangerous if they want to get out / protest against their treatment.
What are they then? "Sentient"?? Deranged advanced programs??
This technology could be wonderful. We are getting somewhat closer to this holodeck technology—let's say alpha-alpha version.
Right now it's possible that a LLM emulates a character. It can also speak very human-like, in text and audio, so it's easy to forget that you are talking to a machine.
The possibilities it unlocks are exciting.
New ways to enjoy media and so much more.