WIRED October 2032

Design fiction is a design method for envisioning new futures and technologies and can be presented through images, texts, and design artifacts such as magazines. The envisioning is not only about the technical aspects of the technology but also about potential social, political, and personal effects and outcomes in a future world. It is a design practice that can be used to speculate about the future.

The design artifact is in the form of an excerpt from an October 2032 WIRED magazine.

The envisioned world for this design fiction is the year 2032. Virtual reality (VR) technology has advanced. It has become mature, ubiquitous, and widely used, but not everywhere has it been incorporated into day-to-day living. The new thing is the World Wide Verse, also known as the Verse. To enter the Verse, a person needs a pair of glasses that can be bought from various companies producing these devices. Countries worldwide experience varying levels of well-being and freedom that fall between utopia and dystopia. The envisioned future revolves around people from five countries: Sweden, Lebanon, Thailand, India, and Uganda.