The Metaverse Is Coming; We May Already Be in It

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February 22, 2022

Dear Reader, Recently, tech companies have been touting the idea of the metaverse—an immersive, connected virtual-reality environment where people can interact, play and work. In fact, if that virtual environment seemed realistic enough, its inhabitants might mistake it for the real world. And what if that scenario has already happened? That's the question that computer scientist and video game pioneer Rizwan Virk explores in this week's lead story.

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology

Computing The Metaverse Is Coming; We May Already Be in It As in the world of The Matrix, we may not be able to tell what's real and what's not By Rizwan Virk

Medicine Messenger RNA Therapies Are Finally Fulfilling Their Promise Instructing our cells to make specific proteins could control influenza, autoimmune diseases, even cancer By Drew Weissman

Defense Russia-Ukraine Conflict Prompted U.S. to Develop Autonomous Drone Swarms, 1,000-Mile Cannon The U.S. military has new technology on the drawing board in response to warfare trends previously demonstrated in the region By Jason Sherman

Artificial Intelligence AI Outraces Human Champs at the Video Game Gran Turismo The program also challenges certain assumptions about self-driving cars By Sophie Bushwick

Electronics Holographic Camera Instantly Peeks around Obstacles New imaging tech could probe beyond corners, inside the body, and more By Nikk Ogasa

Quantum Physics Turbulence Equations Discovered after Century-Long Quest The formulas describe the complex behavior of a liquid when it meets a boundary By Rachel Crowell

Artificial Intelligence Humans Find AI-Generated Faces More Trustworthy Than the Real Thing Viewers struggle to distinguish images of sophisticated machine-generated faces from actual humans By Emily Willingham

Defense Cyberattack Misinformation Could Be Plan for Ukraine Invasion A falsified video would be an update on the traditional use of propaganda campaigns during warfare By Sophie Bushwick

Space Exploration Moon's Hidden Depths Uncovered with New Algorithm The permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles might contain thick ice reservoirs By Connie Chang

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Space & Physics, Volume 5, Issue 1

QUOTE OF THE DAY "For the past few years, rideshare companies Lyft and Uber have been moving into the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) business, offering their networks to healthcare organizations that need to schedule rides for patients... [But] to protect patient privacy, drivers aren't told if their rides are from healthcare partnerships or not." Nicole Wetsman, The Verge

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Do We Live in a Simulation? Chances Are about 50–50 Gauging whether or not we dwell inside someone else's computer may come down to advanced AI research—or measurements at the frontiers of cosmology By Anil Ananthaswamy | October 2020

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