general commentaries

Early Lessons from Second Life: A Study in Reality

Michele Mekel, J.D., M.B.A., M.H.A.
Executive Director/Legal Fellow
Institute on Biotechnology & the Human Future

Second Life, Linden Labs' virtual world, has taken on a life of its own, so to speak, with a population of more than 4 million "residents" and an economy where approximately $1.5 million (U.S.) is transacted on a daily basis.¹

Second Life's 4-million-plus "residents" are avatars ­ the virtual personas designed by the sites' real-world, human members. With the slogan "Your World. Your Imagination[,]" Second Life encourages its members to personalize their avatar by "chang[ing] anything . . . , from the tip of [their] nose to the tint of [their] skin."²

These notions of unbounded potential, creation of an individualized ideal, and utopia (at least for some Second Lifers) are, however, not novel or unique to Second Life. In fact, these are concepts also espoused by transhumanism in its idealistic vision of the future to be brought about by human "enhancement" technologies.³

But, in Second Life's robust virtual reality, the ability to "be all you can be" has, thus far, failed to bring about an enlightened, peaceful world of limitless abundance and utter freedom. For example, Second Life's "residents" - at least the humanoid ones - generally reflect a morphology that comports with real-world society's "ideals."⁴ One is hard pressed to find old-looking, physically deformed or disabled, or obese avatars. Furthermore, in recent weeks, Second Life has been plagued by virtual terrorism and violence.⁵ It has even fallen prey to hackers releasing self-replicating scripts - or "grey goo" as Linden Labs has dubbed the problem (utilizing the techno-threat phrase so often associated with nanotechnology) - and crashing the site.⁶ Furthermore, Second Life's growing economy, in which real dollars are converted to Linden Dollars and then spent (albeit on virtual goods and services) and in which real-world corporations are developing a presence,⁷ is a testament to the fact that free-market forces are alive and well - even in the virtual realm.

Given this state of virtual affairs, Second Life poses a perfect test case in which to examine philosophies, such as transhumanism. Not only can virtual reality settings provide insight into the human psyche and human nature (both good and bad), but they do so without experimenting with potentially irreversible interventions that could forever alter - in unexpected and unintended ways - the human race. And, what has been seen so far should be cause for reflection and re-evaluation by transhumanists,⁸ and should trigger serious dialogue and debate among the rest of us in considering the very real ethical, legal, and social implications that will arise along with the potential for real human "enhancement."

Michele Mekel, J.D., M.H.A., M.B.A., is executive director and fellow of the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future, and associate director of the Center on Nanotechnology and Society - both at Chicago-Kent College of Law/Illinois Institute of Technology.

¹ See Second Life, available at http://secondlife.com. In fact, there is actually a currency exchange to convert U.S. dollars into Linden Dollars, the money of Second Life. The going rate is approximately 280 Linden Dollars to one U.S. dollar. See SL Exchange, available at http://www.slexchange.com/modules.php?name=Currency.
² Second Life, Create an Avatar, available at http://secondlife.com/whatis/avatar.php. And even to begin with, the base from which one customizes his or her avatar is already very "Barbie"-esque or "Ken"-esque (depending upon which sex is chosen) - already reflecting society's idea of ideal.
³ See Michele Mekel & Stephen Ten Eyck, The Trouble with Transhumanism, available at http://www.nano-and-society.org.
⁴ See, supra, note 2. There is, however, a good deal of variety in "species" (i.e., human, quasi-human, animal, and "other") among the avatars in Second Life.
⁵ See Glenn Chapman, Virtual Terror Strikes Second Life (Feb. 24, 2007), available at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070224/ts_alt_afp/usitinternetattacks_070224005516.
⁶ See Robin Linden, Update: Grid Reopened (Grey Goo on Grid) (Nov. 19, 2006), available at http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/11/19/grey-goo-on-grid/. See also, PlayNoEvil, Another Denial of Service Attack/Hack on Linden Labs' Second Life (Apr. 16, 2006), available at http://www.playnoevil.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/380-Another-Denial-of-Service-Attack-Hack-on-
Linden-Labs-Second-Life-MMO.html
⁷ Wikipedia, Business and Organizations in Second Life, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businesses_and_Organizations_in_Second_Life.
⁸ The World Transhumanist Association also has a presence on Second Life. See, supra, note 7.