The technology blog The Verge recently examined the potential future of computer displays, beyond the latest virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets, by analysing a prototype hologram display.
A virtual reality headset is a device that covers the eyes and projects a computer-generated world (or a specially filmed movie) around the user. This allows the user to experience the sensation of being in the virtual world, and to interact with it.
Augmented reality is distinguished from other forms of virtual reality by the manner in which it presents information to the user. Rather than relying on a separate display, the user’s own vision is used as the display, with projected images or information superimposed on the real world.
However, holograms, as conceptualized by the hologram display, would represent a further advancement, creating a three-dimensional representation in front of the viewer. It is likely that readers are now asking themselves what this has to do with the cause of life.
As illustrated in the accompanying image, The Verge presented a version of their story accompanied by a drawing depicting a 3D hologram ultrasound. In their article, they referenced the potential use of this technology to enable expectant mothers to “view an image of their developing baby.”
Over the past couple of decades, the advent of ultrasound technology has enabled pregnancy help centers to demonstrate to women contemplating abortion that their fetus is not merely a “clump of cells,” but a living, developing human being. This approach has been so effective that pro-abortion groups have been working diligently to shut down these centers as “deceptive” and “fraudulent.”
The remarkable 4-D ultrasounds that depict the fetus in the womb in real-time have advanced the field. They eliminate the necessity to analyze the shadows and light of the ultrasound to ascertain the shape of the fetus by generating a computerized, albeit rudimentary, representation of the infant.
One can posit that a scene depicting a fully realized and realistic image of the child as he is now would serve to further advance the understanding of women in crisis that the baby in their womb is their baby.
For sure, in the end technology is just a tool that can be used for good or for ill, but it behooves the pro-life movement to ensure that when new tech comes along that serves the purposes of Life we should be ready to leap upon it and see what good it can do.