The Guardian view on social media’s metaverse: it may remain science fiction | Editorial

The online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit may not catch onIn the 1992 sci-fi dystopia Snow Crash, the author Neal Stephenson imagined a bleak 21st century where the collapse of the global economy had seen governments fall and their power replaced by a few giant businesses. The book is notable for prescience, anticipating the adoption of what was then seen as outlandish technologies like the wireless internet, cryptocurrencies and smartphones, as well as the rise of the gig economy. But it is the book’s prophetic vision of “the metaverse” that has revived interest in the work.That is because Stephenson described the online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit. Last October, Microsoft announced that users of its Teams online meetings app would be able to turn themselves into avatars – the term Stephenson popularised in Snow Crash – to encourage users into virtual interaction. Days later Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, rebranded his company as Meta, with a focus on the potential for virtual worlds. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-02-07 19:11:48 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "The Guardian view on social media’s metaverse: it may remain science fiction | Editorial"


Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors

Concerns raised about interference or censorship after documents showed writers were barred despite receiving enough nominationsA prestigious literary award for science fiction, which was hosted in China for the first time, has come under fire for excluding several authors from the 2023 awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-24 15:53:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


8 Gothic Science Fiction Novels That Will Chill and Thrill You

Check out these 8 gothic science fiction novels! They're sure to both terrorize and entertain you in equal measure! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-24 11:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best SFF eBook Deals for January 22, 2024

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-22 16:42:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Apple just dropped a mysterious trailer for its latest sci-fi series Constellation

Apple just dropped a trailer for its forthcoming sci-fi mystery series Constellation. The series follows an astronaut, played by Noomi Rapace, after an emergency return to Earth. However, the homecoming is fraught with mysterious occurrences and plain-old sci-fi weirdness, leaving audiences... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-22 16:42:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The 10 Categorically Best Comics of 2023

From superheroes to history to science fiction to vampires and so much more, here are the 10 best comics of 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-22 11:32:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Terry Bisson, Award-Winning Sci-Fi Author, Dies at 81

The award-winning science fiction author, whose short story “Bears Discover Fire” swept the genre's major awards in 1990, died on January 10 following a recent cancer diagnosis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Deals for January 15, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-15 16:57:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The 10 Absolute Best Science Fiction Books of 2023

2023 was an incredible year for books celebrating all things science. Here are 10 of the best science fiction books of 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Peregrine spacecraft experiences ‘anomaly’ that could threaten moon landing

The Peregrine spacecraft has experienced an ‘anomaly’ that could endanger its planned moon landing, as reported by the BBC. Astrobotic, the private company behind the project, says this anomaly prevents the spacecraft from pointing its solar panels at the sun. In other words, the vehicle can’t... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-08 19:12:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best SFF eBook Deals of January 8, 2024

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 14:54:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Peregrine Mission 1 heralds the beginning of the moon’s commercialization

Hours before sunrise on Monday morning, United Launch Alliance’s brand spankin’ new Vulcan Centaur rocket is scheduled to make its maiden flight carrying a historic passenger: Peregrine, the first American lunar lander to be sent to the moon in over 50 years. And its mission could mark a turning... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-07 14:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jump Into These 9 New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books in January 2024

The best new sci-fi and fantasy books out January 2024 feature mythological retellings, space adventures, cyberpunk ghost stories, and more! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-02 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


This is the future of generative AI, according to generative AI

As part of our year-end story package, we tasked ChatGPT with writing a guest post about the future of generative AI. The prompt asked for a 1,200 word article (a number it undercut by quite a margin) that explored both the potential negative and positive outcomes of the technology. We then... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-12-28 16:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The best books we read in 2023

With El Niño slated to drop a warm, wet winter on most of the US in the coming months, everybody’s going to need something good to read while the weather outside is frightful. Engadget’s well-read staff have some suggestions: our favorite books of 2023! We’ve got a phenomenal assortment of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-12-25 16:30:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Riot’s SFF Deals for December 18, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-18 18:52:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: ‘Remembrance,’ by Ray Bradbury

Not many, according to a new collection of correspondence from a science fiction master. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-12-18 10:00:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pink Dystopia: Gabrielle Korn on How a Decade in Women’s Media Inspired Her Novel

Science fiction made me want to be a writer. As a child in the ‘90s I read Interstellar Pig because my older sister loved it, and that’s when it started—a lifelong obsession with alternate universes, aliens, time travel, dystopia; a compulsion to read and eventually tell stories to make sense of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-12 09:52:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Deals of December 11, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-11 16:27:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Deals for December 4, 2023

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-04 16:55:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2023

From witch stories to near-future noir, here are the year’s 10 best speculative books. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-12-04 10:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this