This episode ventures deep into the tech vortex of 2023, dissecting the trends that have transformed the buzzword 'metaverse' into a tangible digital frontier powered by AI. Hosts Shannon and Brett navigate through the year's pivotal moments, from the rise and fall of tech lingo to the ethical conundrums posed by AI's advance. They examine the intersection where technology meets humanity, pondering the implications of virtual realities and AI in our daily lives. With an eye on both the rearview and the road ahead, they offer an intergenerational dialogue on the digital revolution—its potential to innovate and its capacity to disrupt. This is an exploration of not just the technology that's reshaping our world, but also the narratives, skepticism, and speculations surrounding it. Topics covered in this episode: * Advancements in AI: How artificial intelligence is becoming more integrated into creative industries and everyday applications. * Effective Accelerationism: Discussion about the societal and technological changes being expedited by a new movement or “neo-religion” focused on speeding up technological progress. * Spatial Computing Developments: The latest in spatial technology, such as the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest. * Tab, Humane, and Screen-less AI Computing: A dive into new wearable AI tech and its implications for human-computer interactions.And more as the hosts reflect on 2023! Please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Thank you for listening! Brett Leonard is a veteran Hollywood film director known for introducing the concept of Virtual Reality to popular culture with his hit film Lawnmower Man. Apart from directing many other feature films, he is involved with innovating immersive content production for the emerging virtual mediums of the Metaverse era. Shannon Leonard is a creative director, YouTube creator and VR early adopter. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatisthemetaverse.substack.com