In 1992, Neal Stephenson published “Snow Crash”, a science fiction novel about a computer virus in a virtual world, which introduced the concept of the metaverse. The metaverse, built on blockchain technology, transcends national boundaries and provides a decentralised and highly autonomous virtual space for activities such as learning, working and playing. Apple’s VisionPro, an AR headset launched on January 27, aims to pioneer the metaverse by providing intelligent interaction and rich...

TikTok has been found to provide different comments to different groups of people, deliberately provoking confrontation and creating information cocoons. Amazon, Ctrip and other platforms use user profiles to adjust prices and increase profit. Increasingly, biometrics are used, recognising expressions, voice and even mouse movements. In September 2023, a 23-year-old man from ShanXi, China, posted a Tiktok video to share a shocking discovery. In a video of a couple arguing, the comments...