An Inhuman Metaverse

On this episode, I conclude my discussion about the metaverse with a reflection on Lyotard's philosophy. While Lyotard died in 1998 his prognostications about technology, capital, economics are searingly insightful and relevant. Lyotard suggests perhaps our best chance for emancipating ourselves from the dangerous dispositions of our tools is to embrace an aesthetic confrontation with the technosphere. This means we need to figure out how to embed contingency, creation, dialogue and humanity into our machines then we have some hope of saving ourselves, at least before our sun goes supernova!

In this episode I also had a think about Matthew Bell's very thought-provoking essay "The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, and Who Will Build It" which is available via his website. Also, I referenced the art exhibition Les Immatériaux which was curated by Lyotard. These lectures are brought to you by Staffordshire University's Philosophy team. Come study on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link. Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link. Find out more about me here. January and September intakes available either F/T or P/T.