Science fiction pioneer Neal Stephenson on the metaverse, the movies and why he still believes in blockchain

Channels with Peter Kafka

Vox Media Podcast Network

Business News, News, Tv & Film, Technology

4.4 • 585 Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mark Zuckerberg wants to build the metaverse. Neal Stephenson created the meta verse three decades ago. The author’s 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash popularized the use of the term “avatar” in a digital context, inspired the makers of Google Earth, and, of course, imagined (and named) the dystopian metaverse that Silicon Valley is racing to make a reality. Stephenson has also tried his hand at actual science - helping Jeff Bezos build his private rocket ship business, and later working with Magic Leap at its fizzled AR goggles attempt. Now he’s trying his hand at the blockchain and says he’s not dissuaded by last year’s crypto crash. And if you act right now, you can bid on some of his real and digital goods at a Sotheby’s auction. Stephenson talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about all of that, plus his failed (so far) attempts to turn his work into TV shows or movies, the future of VR, and why his vision of cautious optimism involves calamitous climate disasters. Featuring: Neal Stephenson (@nealstephenson), Author Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:06.0	This is Recode Media, Peter Kafka.
1:08.4	That is me, and today I'm talking to Neil Stevenson.
1:11.7	Welcome, Neil.
1:12.4	It's good to be here. Thanks for having me on your podcast. Thanks for coming. I'm going to give you a formal intro because you merit a formal intro. You ready? Okay, I'll embrace myself. I typed it up myself. Neil Stevenson is one of the most influential science fiction writers in the world. He's the author of Works like Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon.
1:29.7	He's the person who helped us imagine
1:31.0	the internet, virtual reality. He's also deeply involved in the science part of the science fiction.
1:35.8	He was the first hire at Blue Origin. That's Jeff Bezos's private rocket company. He was the,
1:40.5	what was your title at Magic Leap? Chief Futurist. You're the chief futurist at Magic Leap, the ambitious augmented reality headset company.
1:48.2	He's the co-founder of Lambda 1, a blockchain company that wants to help usher in the Metaverse, a term that you coined in 1992.
1:57.1	And if you were listening to this on Monday, March 6th, you have the opportunity to bid on Neal's, what do we call it?
2:03.3	Not your ephemera, not your juvenileia.
2:05.4	It's multiple items.
2:07.1	Some of them, you know, you could call ephemera.
2:10.3	The bidding closes at two in the afternoon Eastern time on Monday, Monday, March 6th.
	...

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