I'll be that guy: Cyberpunk, Biopunk and, despite the cliché, the Metaverse.

I really hope it won't be the Zuckerberg version, and I'm not talking about weird crypto schemes, VR/AR goggles or Pokémon Go. I mean the original idea as described in 80s sci-fi novels, Ghost in the Shell, Matrix, Avatar, etc: Brain implants that let you plug into some kind of fully immersive VR world (or alternatively, a remote-controlled robot body in the real world) and gives you an experience indistinguishable from reality.

I don't think there are many people that consciously want this future (except maybe furries, trans folks and tech billionaires), but there seems to be a remarkable number of both push and pull factors that move us into that direction:

- The technology seems to become increasingly feasible (in the next decades) : Biotechnology is already one of the most active and well-funded areas of research and the pandemic will only increase this development.

- A significant number of common "first-world problems" seem to be about body image: Beauty standards, gender identity, but also disabilities or age. I think the ability to design your own body as you see fit or to swap it out as we are changing clothing today will have an allure that should not be underestimated - especially in an individualistic and narcissistic society.

- Humans are overtaken by machines in an increasing number of areas, even without some kind of killer AI: Today, our machines can travel to other planets, explore physically plausible 4D spaces, trade in milliseconds or simply skip arbitrary amounts of time in standby. Only humans are stuck in the old world. Turning people into cyborgs might be an attempt to bring humans back into the loop here.

- Most of us are already spending a significant part of our lives in virtual worlds - social networks, chats, etc - but we do so in an awkward way that requires us to constantly divide our attention. Calls for "digital detox", going analog, etc are numerous but don't really seem to lead to much. Going the opposite direction - going fully virtual - could be an attempt to solve the attention problem.

- The current streak of "bad years" is unlikely to stop anytime soon and the real world will likely become a more unpleasant place than it was during the end of the 20th century: Either we'll be hit by the full force of climate change - or we'll voluntary restrict ourselves to avert the worst. In either case, the world will be less inviting and less free to explore than it used to be. So the desire to escape to a different world will likely grow stronger.

- Governments and corporations will probably be in favour of a Metaverse as at least a centralised version of it would greatly simplify social control.

I think there are some fascinating aspects to all of this, but there are also lots of obvious ways how this could turn into a dystopia. At the very least, if it should come to this, "decentralisation" will be a fundamental necessity and not just a crypto catch phrase - otherwise, we can quickly end up in a world where FAANG pushes "bug fixes and performance improvements" to your brain and where you'll be physically unable to sing "Happy Birthday" without a Spotify subscription.