The man who coined Metaverse now says Meta’s glasses are creepy

Neal Stephenson speaks onstage during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center on March 16, 2022 in Austin, Texas. | Getty Images for SXSW

Neal Stephenson didn't invent the virtual reality headset. But Meta certainly knows his name - in 1992, his seminal cyberpunk novel Snow Crash coined the phrase "Metaverse" to describe a virtual reality world experienced through VR goggles. It inspired many key VR developers - and in 2021, Facebook decided to rename its entire company to Meta to chase that metaverse dream.

Now, Stephenson says he no longer believes face-worn computing is the future. He thinks Meta's glasses are creepy: "People don't like wearing things on their faces and don't trust those who do." He thinks goggles are no longer the future in a world in a world filled with …

Read the full story at The Verge.