Mediated Worlds: Enacting the Metaverse - Generative Worldmaking and Virtual Reality

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Enacting the Metaverse studies the imminent integration of real and virtual worlds. Recent advancements in parallel computation have fueled the growth of transformative new technologies. Artificial intelligence performs tasks at a level that exceeds human ability. Blockchain technology enables virtual ownership of digital assets. Extended reality augments and reconfigures our experience of the world. The metaverse is the outgrowth of these technologies. It is a shared virtual 3D world that intermeshes with the real. We will be the citizens of this new hyper-mediated world. It is our responsibility to confront these developments from technical and critical perspectives. This course develops the knowledge and skills needed.