Edward Elgar Publishing How AI, Metaverses, Crypto, and Cyber will Upend the 21st Century

This book explores the metamorphosis of fundamental social interactions and communal experiences, fuelled by technologies such as artificial intelligence, immersive online environments, augmented reality, blockchain, crypto and FinTech. It examines the competitors, regulators and governments who are locked in a struggle to control the economic and social future shaped by these technologies. Jon M. Garon tracks the evolution of the internet, video games, AI and emerging technologies as they converge into the transformative communications and commercial platform now known as the metaverse. He explains how each transformation in media influences and reshapes culture, and proposes ways in which metaverse platforms could operate in the public sphere. The book also discusses the efforts of governments across China, Europe and the United States to regulate the multinational companies responsible for these technologies, as well as comparing the conflicting views among states on what the metaverse should be. Providing practical guidance on the adoption of regulations in employment and educational settings, this book is essential reading for students, scholars and practitioners of antitrust and competition law, cyberspace law, finance and banking law, internet studies, and regulation and governance.