Why the Metaverse Must Be Stopped w/ Brian Merchant

Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s big plans for the metaverse, everything that’s wrong with it, the concept’s scifi origins, and why Silicon Valley is desperate to make it happen.

Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone and Blood in the Machine, coming in 2022. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.

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Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Brian wrote about the dystopian origins of the metaverse for Motherboard and why Silicon Valley wants it to succeed for The Atlantic.
• Paris wrote about how the metaverse is a way to get us to spend more time and money in digital spaces for Business Insider.
• Matthew Ball made the business case for the metaverse last year.
• Apple’s changes to iOS privacy settings cost Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat an estimated $9.85 billion in revenue.
• Emails sent by Oculus CEO Jason Rubin in 2018 asserted that consumers want the metaverse (something that’s not at all clear).
• David Karpf wrote about how VR keeps failing and getting revived for Wired.
• Apple’s AR headset or glasses are supposedly coming in 2022.
• Microsoft is trying to get in on the metaverse with workplace applications of its own.
• Brian hosted a series for Motherboard about the themes of Dune.