How virtual reality and artificial intelligence are changing life experiences

It might be considered a platitude, but people are always looking for new ways to break away from the monotonous beat of everyday normalcy – either temporarily or permanently. According to a 2013 report on drug abuse by the United States government, 9.4 percent (around 24.6 million people) of individuals age 12 or old noted that they had recreationally used a drug within the past month. This tendency to seek life-changing experiences is true whether it concerns things like the countercultural movements of the 1970s – which infamously involved controversial music and use of illicit drugs – or the technological experiences today. Most people are fascinated with those experiences that allow them to escape crushing boredom and constancy of regular life. That's why the prospect of virtual realities and the possibilities of automation afforded by artificial intelligence are so exciting. Here are some of the biggest changes related to these two fields that are quickly arriving with the technological advents of modern society.