Cultural awareness through virtual reality

The U.S. military apparently recognizes the need to train troops in cultural awareness, so it has developed some virtual reality technology that enables soldiers to practice interacting with people from different societies. At the moment, not surprisingly, this is particularly focused on learning about Iraqis and Arabs. According to an article in the Arizona Daily Star:

The U.S. military historically has been weak at understanding the mind-set of enemies, Proffitt said. By promoting cultural awareness, the new training system may help change that, he said.

“I think that’s the hard part for the Army. We tend to go over there and fight with our machinery and our tactics without a really innate understanding of the psyche of the other guy,” he said.

Remarkably, not only does the technology give individuals the sense that they are talking to a real person, but it is designed to warn about potential cultural mistakes being made during the conversation.

To increase the chance of gaining Iraqi cooperation, soldiers also need to be on guard for cultural pitfalls such as inquiring about the well-being of an Iraqi man’s wife, which is considered extremely rude. The virtual translator is programmed to warn interrogators when they stray into that kind of sensitive territory.

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