What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - How Safe is the Metaverse?
Slate News
Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 11 February 2022
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Facebook’s first crack at the metaverse has a problem: kids. Underage users seem to be flooding Horizon Worlds, potentially putting themselves at risk.
Is Meta doomed to repeat Facebook’s mistakes?
Guest: Will Oremus, technology news analysis writer for the Washington Post.
Host: Lizzie O’Leary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I think that the holidays feel like frozen noses. I love walking with the dog for long periods of time. |
| 0:10.0 | Hopefully it's snowing and you've got to wrap up warm. So I think a frozen nose is |
| 0:13.6 | then sweaty armpits because like you're wrapped up so warm but then you're climbing hamps |
| 0:17.9 | and heath and you get to the top and you're like and then you can see the breath |
| 0:21.6 | but then your nose is still freezing to touch. |
| 0:25.0 | Joy in every sip with red carp snown back at Starbucks. |
| 0:30.2 | Heads up. You might not want to listen to this show with kids. We talk about some pretty heavy stuff. |
| 0:40.9 | Last month, Washington Post reporter Willa Remis spent a weekend |
| 0:44.8 | after noon with his Oculus headset on. He was messing around in Facebook's new virtual |
| 0:50.2 | reality platform Horizon Worlds. During the afternoon, I was wandering around just checking out |
| 0:57.2 | the various random games that users have built in there. And what do you see? What do you like? |
| 1:03.8 | Some are better than others I'll say. You know, anybody can build a little mini experience or |
| 1:10.8 | game within Horizon Worlds. The one that I was in that day was called Magic Mania. |
| 1:18.2 | I am Miss Meneva and the headwitch here. In the game, you're dropped into what looks like a big |
| 1:25.4 | palace or castle. Players are handed wands and then shoot one of three spells at each other. |
| 1:32.0 | It's a little like rock paper scissors in that some spells beat other ones. |
| 1:36.6 | I was alone in this game and then there was nobody else in there. And then the head is little |
| 1:41.6 | voice. He says, where are you? I was like a little creeped out, to be honest. I mean, this is |
| 1:49.3 | usually in Horizon Worlds, in this virtual reality world. It's the real voice of the person. |
| 1:55.9 | And this sounded like a little kid. And I didn't say anything in person. They were like, |
| 2:00.4 | I can't find you. Can you give me a hand? And what did you do? |
| 2:04.3 | I showed myself and I was like, try to be friendly. And I asked if they were a kid because I was |
... |
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