I Never Metaverse I Didn’t Like

I Never Metaverse I Didn’t Like

The metaverse. A simulated world, controlled with inputs from our reality to merge cyberspace and meatspace into one plane of existence. If this sounds like a sci-fi concept from the early ‘90s, that’s because it is. But now Facebook is trying to make the metaverse a reality.

The company has been exploring AR and VR tech with the goal of manufacturing a virtual experience that allows users from all over the world to interact in a shared dimension. So far, the most promising metaverse concept the company has shown off is a VR conference room for business meetings. Not super exciting, folks! However, Facebook has demonstrated that its tech has the potential to re-frame how we interact in the future—provided we all use Facebook headsets and apps from the Oculus store to meet up within the confines of Facebook’s platform.

This week on Gadget Lab, we talk with Peter Rubin, WIRED contributor and author of the book Future Presence, about Facebook’s grand vision and whether an open, platform-agnostic version of the metaverse will ever fully materialize.

Show Notes:

Read Peter’s story about Facebook’s Horizon Workrooms. Also, his story about the metaverse in Ready Player One. Peter’s book, Future Presence, is now out in paperback. Read Lauren’s story about Facebook’s wrist wearables. And Gilad Edelman has a take on cargo pants, obviously.

Recommendations:

Peter recommends the show Reservation Dogs. Lauren recommends taking a staycation, because you deserve it. Mike recommends Peter’s newsletter, The Peter Principle.

PeterRubin can be found on Twitter @provenself. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(426)

TikTok Stole Our Hearts, But Can It Last?

TikTok Stole Our Hearts, But Can It Last?

On a Sunday in January, TikTok users were greeted with a notification in the app which said that TikTok was no longer available to use in the U.S., but that it hoped to be back soon. The following day...

6 Helmi 202532min

The World According to Marc Andreessen

The World According to Marc Andreessen

It wasn’t that long ago that one of Silicon Valley's most prominent and influential venture capitalists, Marc Andreessen, was a major supporter of the Democratic Party. So how did he, in such a short ...

30 Tammi 202538min

Zuck Ends Fact-Checking. What Could Go Wrong?

Zuck Ends Fact-Checking. What Could Go Wrong?

With the news that Meta is ending its third-party fact-checking program, we dig into the future of content moderation. From Community Notes to automated systems, how do you manage trust and safety for...

23 Tammi 202541min

We Turned Our Lives Over to AI Assistants

We Turned Our Lives Over to AI Assistants

Sometimes you just need a little help. That’s where the robots come in! But, have we actually reached a place where AI is more helpful than working with a human expert? This week, we compare notes on ...

16 Tammi 202537min

Musk Takes Washington

Musk Takes Washington

What do Dogecoin and the Department of Government Efficiency have in common? Elon Musk, of course. This new government committee led by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy is being tasked with cutting the federa...

9 Tammi 202536min

From Critics at Large: Will Kids Online, In Fact, Be All Right?

From Critics at Large: Will Kids Online, In Fact, Be All Right?

In her new FX docuseries “Social Studies,” the artist and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield delves into the post-pandemic lives—and phones—of a group of L.A. teens. Screen recordings of the kids’ social-med...

2 Tammi 202549min

All of Our Hopes and Fears for Tech

All of Our Hopes and Fears for Tech

Wearable tech, self-driving cars and AI mishaps. There were a lot of new product launches this year – some more successful than others. This week on Uncanny Valley, we talk about the tech out there th...

19 Joulu 202436min

Is This The Year We Quit Social Media?

Is This The Year We Quit Social Media?

In a post-Twitter world, text-based social media apps have taken a new shape. X, BlueSky, and Threads are home to wildly different types of discourse. So, which of these apps are actually worth our ti...

12 Joulu 202442min