Dear all,
Some shameless self promotion for this co-authored book (with Chris
Hesselbein), just in case some people are interested:
This open-access
book seeks to
critically position the 'Metaverse' as a tripartite endeavour undertaken by
large technology companies to virtualize, datafy, and infrastructuralize
society, particularly on the levels of spatiality and embodiment. On the one
hand, metaversal technologies render space in virtual form or overlay digital
layers onto pre-existing physical spaces. On the other hand, metaversal
technologies not only seek to extend or expand our embodied senses and emplace
our bodies and identities in virtual spaces, but they also seek to virtualize
and capture our behaviours and actions on a far more granular level. In short,
the 'Metaverse' is an attempt by technology companies to position themselves
as 'infrastructures of reality'. Whether in the form of VR, AR, and virtual
environments or gaming 'worlds', metaversal technologies not only create new
opportunities in terms of work, social interaction, identity, and leisure, but
also open our spaces and bodies up to new, tech-driven forms of intervention,
control, and inequality. Taken together, the ongoing metaversification of
spaces and bodies gives rise to crucial questions about the socio-political
goals and implications of metaverse endeavours undertaken by large technology
companies, the relationship between the metaverse and AI systems, and the need
for new narratives about technology.
Kind regards,
Paolo & Chris
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