The most bullish people see all this as being potentially the next big platform to follow the smartphone. It could be that within a decade, we're all wearing headsets and using them for kind of everything in the way that we currently use our phones for almost everything. If that comes to pass, then meta could be very well positioned. They've got a big first move for advantage. We just don't know. It's a huge, huge risk.
Regional leaders recognise the abject failure of the war on drugs. We speak with Colombia’s president about some
bold new ideas to tackle the problem. Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is a big gamble on the metaverse—but the
real risk is that the company still known as Facebook is waning. And a zippy ride through England’s
electric-scooter trial. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of
The Economist, subscribe here
www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer