Two experts in immersive technologies may disagree on what the metaverse will look like, but they do agree that it is going to change society.  

The metaverse may very well be the future. Before we get there, though, it is probably necessary to establish what exactly the metaverse is. That, it turns out, isn’t so easy. 

For this episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, we listen in on a conversation between Carnegie Mellon University professor Jesse Schell and Wedbush Securities managing director Michael Pachter, who discuss recent developments in metaverse technologies and how the public views these developments. 

In this conversation with journalist and author Steven L. Kent during the Crosscut Ideas Festival in Seattle, the two also spar over what exactly the metaverse will be, and share how much further they believe the industry needs to evolve to truly see the metaverse reach its full potential. 

What they agree on is that the metaverse will be able to bring us closer together, but also risks pulling us further apart.

This conversation was recorded May 2, 2023.

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Credits

Host: Paris Jackson

Producer: Seth Halleran

Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd

Engineers: Resti Bagcal, Viktoria Ralph

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