Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta last week – and launched a vision for his company that he claims will transform the way we interact with the internet and each other. So what exactly is the metaverse? And will it ever leave the realm of science fiction?When Facebook scheduled a major announcement for last week, news quickly got out that Mark Zuckerberg was planning to change the company’s name – and that he would explain how Facebook would move towards its next incarnation, the “metaverse”. But few expected he would set out a vision with such far-off ambitions – and show so little evidence of what it is doing today to get there. Zuckerberg’s presentation was derided in some quarters as wooden, narcissistic, dystopian, and unintentionally hilarious. But it was also a vastly ambitious and risky pitch for how the company will leave its present-day brand and focus behind to re-emerge as the leading player in a version of the internet that doesn’t exist today.So what exactly is the metaverse? What is the business case for Facebook’s pivot to such an undeveloped and complex technology? And how much was the decision to rebrand as Meta driven by the toxification of Facebook’s brand by months of damaging leaks from the US whistleblower Frances Haugen? In this episode, Nosheen Iqbal is joined by the Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, who explains what we already know about the metaverse, its origins in science fiction stories, and its likely real-world... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-04 03:00:23 UTC ]
This past summer, I stumbled across a link on social media to Chris Marker’s 1962 science fiction film La Jetée. For those who don’t know it, Marker’s miniature masterpiece—its running time is 28 minutes—mixes black-and-white stills with narration to tell the story of a man who circles back in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-07 09:49:34 UTC ]
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CIXIN LIU IS having a moment. The recent publication in English of his Three-Body Problem trilogy has been rightly hailed as a sea change for Chinese science fiction in translation, garnering myriad awards and receiving wide acclaim — including an endorsement from Barack Obama. The Wandering... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-29 17:00:45 UTC ]
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With enough time, the technological challenges of sending humans to Mars and beyond are solvable. But psychologically, we’re not ready to leave our home. In 1945 British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke—now best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey—correctly predicted the invention of... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-10-22 00:00:30 UTC ]
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In his latest book, Michael S. Heiser illustrates how the popular science fiction series can teach us about the Bible and God’s love for humanity. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Read these spine-tingling works of science fiction and fantasy at your own risk. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-10-18 19:00:09 UTC ]
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Battelle technology that can drop drones from the sky has been acquired by a San Francisco startup specializing in defense against unmanned aerial devices. Dedrone has acquired the assets to DroneDefender for undisclosed terms. Looking like a science fiction blaster, the device disrupts... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-10-08 16:38:06 UTC ]
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Our new columnists highlight the works of NYi-Sheng, Fernando A. Flores and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-08 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Translating one medium into another is tricky. Music is music and art is art and dance is dance; to try to convey the power of another art in fiction is its own sleight-of-hand. My own first novel takes on that challenge. In A Song For A New Day, musician Luce Cannon was on the cusp […] The post... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-10-07 11:00:15 UTC ]
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These new science fiction and fantasy titles will be your perfect fall companions. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-10-04 10:36:35 UTC ]
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Authors look to Africa and its diaspora and find the fantastical and futuristic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The future’s uncertain, and the end is always near. Here’s what new SFF has to say about it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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E.V. Odle’s 1923 science fiction novel stars a most unusual — and fascinating — character Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-25 20:52:59 UTC ]
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Earth can be an exhausting place, so let's look beyond our planet and explore these science fiction books about space and other worlds. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-24 10:35:51 UTC ]
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If the idea of saying goodbye to epic sci-fi worlds fills you with sorrow, check out this list of great YA science fiction series and read on! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-17 10:31:05 UTC ]
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Science fiction writing often serves as a thought experiment that explores shared and hidden beliefs whose material and political reverberations lie further in the future. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2019-09-16 11:39:25 UTC ]
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Telling original, Indigenous-focused stories in different genres, filmmaker Jeff Barnaby is helping to normalize the presence of Indigenous people in a variety of realms: horror, science fiction and the broader cultural world. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2019-09-10 17:00:00 UTC ]
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But just how “real” is it? Five years ago, Mark Zuckerberg stated in no uncertain terms that Facebook was going to build the metaverse, a digital world that’s a surrogate for our real one, predicted by science fiction for decades. That’s why he bought Oculus, and invested heavily in VR. But a... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-09-04 09:00:55 UTC ]
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Jeannette Ng, who won the prize this year, said the man it was named after “set the tone of science fiction that still haunts the genre.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-08-28 22:27:26 UTC ]
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Independent science fiction and fantasy publisher Baen Books has partnered with audiobook company RBmedia for an audiobook program. Under the agreement, the two companies will publish more than 170 audiobooks over the next three years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Science fiction is fast becoming science fact, which should be cause for concern. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2019-08-27 17:03:06 UTC ]
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