Actually, we can’t, it doesn’t exist yet, even if existing virtual worlds and games try to pretend otherwise by simply re-labeling themselves “metaverse”. At the same time, the metaverse is not something that will one day suddenly be there: the journey has already begun, and these environments are precursors to the metaverse. Future experiences will be more immersive, increasingly blending the physical and the digital; Many of the technologies that support these experiences already exist. Some are close to commercial profit, as described by my colleagues Brian Hopkins and Julie Ask. Others will take five years or more to make the transition to the mainstream. Four of these longer-term technologies appear on our list of top emerging technologies: Extended Reality (XR), Web3,…