The Metaverse - A Stack of Reality Layers

Nov 11, 2025

Dive into the intriguing world of the metaverse where physical and digital realities blend. Explore the fascinating concept of a 'metaverse stack' that layers augmented and virtual experiences. Discover how AI generates infinite worlds and how our perceptions of reality might shift. The discussion raises critical points on digital sustainability and ownership in virtual spaces, pondering whether companies will dominate this new frontier. Join in on the debate about how education and personal permissions could evolve in this ever-expanding digital landscape.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Lingering Dual-Reality After Headset Use

Sean and Andrew describe a disorienting dual-reality feeling after removing Vision Pro headsets and headphones.
Sean felt a persistent craving to return to his large virtual screens even hours afterward.

ANECDOTE

Procedural NPCs Blur Player Boundaries

Sean cites gaming developments where NPCs and worlds are procedurally generated with simulated lives.
He warns we may face simulation questions as NPCs become indistinguishable from humans.

INSIGHT

Metaverse As A Layered Stack

The hosts frame the metaverse as layered technologies with distinct affordances rather than a single place.
These interoperable layers form a persistent digital overlay that coexists with physical reality.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this mind-bending episode of Modem Futura, Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard dive deep into the metaverse—not as a corporate brand or sci-fi fantasy, but as a living, evolving stack of realities. Drawing on their immersive experiences with Apple’s Vision Pro, they explore what happens when the physical and digital worlds begin to merge—when the headset comes off but the virtual persists. The hosts unravel how layers of spatial, augmented, and extended reality form a “metaverse stack” that blurs the line between presence and simulation, raising profound questions about identity, memory, and the nature of reality itself. Along the way, they revisit Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash, question whether AI-generated worlds make us NPCs in our own simulation, and debate whether sustainability must now include digital preservation. What does it mean to have a “totem” that anchors us to truth? How can foresight and responsible innovation help us design this new mixed-reality future before it designs us?

-----

Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: @ModemFutura

Host Bios:

Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU Bio
Sean is an an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is a Foresight Catalyst for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.

Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU Bio
Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.

-----