Immersive and transformative
DEI training. Embodied learning.

There’s a critical missing element in diversity training: The connection to our bodies.

At MI-VR, we believe in scenario-based learning where participants navigate personal and professional lived experiences while understanding how their body responds during training. 

Participant’s biometric data coupled with virtual reality (VR) allows individuals to see the world through someone else’s eyes and highlights physiological responses which builds awareness, empathy, and responsiveness in real-world situations.

Benefits of the Experience

Participants will learn to navigate challenging real-life scenarios with empathy while gaining confidence to amplify, shield, and call-in. Responsiveness and use of vocabulary will be practiced so underrepresented individuals are not burdened to provide correction.

Incorporating a calling-in culture allows participants to practice responses in VR without experiencing shaming while learning accountability and impact of words and actions. This creates a richer and positive response for embodied learning. As individuals look to incorporate their knowledge and seek thoughtful action in the communities they live and work in, they will be confident in understanding their impact and not solely rely on their intentions.

What is being said about VR and Empathy?

“[Virtual Reality] can change people's perception of each other. And that's how I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world. So, it's a machine, but through this machine we become more compassionate, we become more empathetic, and we become more connected. And ultimately, we become more human.”

— C. Milk, 2015

“Feel humanity in a deeper way. You empathize in a deeper way.”

— C. Milk, 2015

“Yee and Bailenson (2007) coined the term ‘proteus effect’ to explain these phenomena of digital self-transformation. The proteus effect refers to the psychological phenomenon of how changing our self-identity for another social representation can accordingly change our behavior because the subject ascribes the social stereotypes and beliefs linked to the novel identity adopted.”

— Front Robot AI., 2020

“In addition, there is another subjective experience that VR can create, through the use of HMDs (head mounted displays), which is the sense of embodiment. Embodiment is the sense of experiencing the body (or some body parts) as “one's own.”

— Front Robot AI., 2020

A 2017 Verge article highlights artist’s perspectives of VR as an “empathy machine” at the Tribeca Film Festival. One filmmaker, Zohar Kfir, who used the term [empathy machine] believes that VR has clear, pragmatic emotional advantages. “Putting a headset on is a commitment to watch something. It's not like scrolling [through] a YouTube video”. When you're by yourself and you're watching something, it's ground zero for intimacy.”