Fredrickson Family Innovation Lab: Tom Boellstorff

Tom Boellstorff

“Toward an Anthropology of the Metaverse”

“Metaverse” is used in a range of inconsistent ways. But at its heart, the term refers to an emerging digital world that might include everything from virtual reality interfaces to cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence. In this talk, Boellstorff will explore the past, present, and future of the metaverse. He will focus on how hype (and anti-hype) has contributed to confusion over what exactly the “metaverse” might be, and how its transformative potential might be harnessed to benefit society.