The prediction, in brief:

[The virtual world is] going to be an auxiliary space. There will be lots of things that will be similar to the physical world, and there will be lots of things that will be different. But it’s going to be a space that’s going to have a lot of the attributes that we like in reality – a richness, a sense of place, a place to be silent, a place to go deep.

Predictor: Kelly, Kevin

Prediction, in context:

In a 1995 HarperÕs Magazine article, four experts on the impact of modern computing and telecommunications technology debate the effects of such technology on modern society. The article includes comments by Kevin Kelly, the executive editor of Wired magazine and the author of “Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-biological Civilization,” published by Addison-Wesley, an excerpt from which appeared in the May 1994 issue of Harper’s Magazine. Kelly says:Ò[The virtual world is] going to be an auxiliary space. There will be lots of things that will be similar to the physical world, and there will be lots of things that will be different. But it’s going to be a space that’s going to have a lot of the attributes that we like in reality – a richness, a sense of place, a place to be silent, a place to go deep.Ó

Biography:

Kevin Kelly was the author of the book “Out of Control” and the first executive editor of the highly influential Wired magazine. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Community/Culture

Subtopic: General

Name of publication: Harper's Magazine

Title, headline, chapter name: What Are We Doing On-line? A Debate on the Social Consequences of Online Communications

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 35 - 46

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne