ABSTRACT
Virtual objects seem to be located all around the user. By moving or adjusting the virtual camera, one can get an extreme close-up view of virtual objects, allowing one to inspect them in detail. The exciting twist in Blade Runner 2049 is that the characters interacting with Joi are not just confronted with a model of a body, but with a model of a sentient agent. This offers various ways in which the reality (or unreality) of the virtual entity that is Joi can be explored. This chapter reviews some key concepts associated with predictive processing. After that, it shows how to apply those concepts to acquire a better sense of what Joi is and is not, and whether or not we ought to regard her as “real.” Joi’s bodily self is real only when regarded from the perspective of her virtual environment. The non-bodily aspects of her phenomenal self, by contrast, are real tout court.
