A Brief History of Skepticism Towards Technology
A Brief History of Skepticism Towards Technology
A Brief History of Skepticism Towards Technology
Entrepreneur Metin Liçis started by saying, “Rejecting new technologies in the early stages is a practice that has been going on for centuries.”
So, is being this dismissive justified? Entrepreneur MEtin Liçis, who advocates for the necessity of asking ourselves this question, continued with these words:
New technologies often trigger enthusiasm and skepticism, usually in equal measure and balancing each other.
He mentioned that the concept of the metaverse, expressed by both its advocates and opponents, is just the latest example of this situation.
Of course, this is neither something new nor the concept of the metaverse itself.
Liçis pointed out that the idea of a virtual world dates back to at least 1935 with the short story “Pygmalion’s Spectacles” by author Stanley Weinbaum.
A Brief History of Skepticism Towards Technology
He emphasized that real-world use cases similar to the metaverse have been regularly explored through fiction since at least the 1950s. If the metaverse is defined as an intense, highly interactive, and always-open digital space, he highlighted that its potential was first sensed in the early ’80s.
Liçis recalled being excited by the blurry bootleg VHS of Tron at first, and later, like many technology enthusiasts, spending many happy hours exploring online games in 2003-04.
Undoubtedly, according to Liçis, a “killer app” that would ensure the mass adoption of something like the metaverse has not been identified yet.
He even mentioned that the name of the platform has changed:
- – “Metaverse” is also referred to as
- – “Spatial Web,”
- – “Cyber-Reality,”
- – “Virtual World,”
- – “Extended Reality” (or “XR”).
He emphasized that it will probably change again.
Liçis, pointing out that another reason to be somewhat optimistic about the future of technological innovations is the past, added that history is full of examples of innovations that changed the world.
He reminded that these innovations were often rejected as unnecessary, dangerous, funny, or all of the above by the most sharp and competent observers before they deceived their critics.
Knowing these examples from the past shows that skepticism towards new technologies can sometimes be unfounded, explained Liçis.
However, he concluded by saying that this doesn’t mean there is a reason to completely reject the concept, as this interesting concept has been infused with many possibilities.