Tech trends: Wired’s treatment of emerging technologies (2021-2023)

Abstract

This article analyzes Wired’s treatment of three emerging technologies: NFTs, the metaverse, and generative AI, as reflected in the content of their website during the period 2021–2023. Through thematic analysis, the research has found that Wired’s treatment of these three technologies participates in the emergence of hype trends while also departs from the techno-deterministic perspective historically attributed to the magazine by scholarship. Therefore, the study establishes that Wired’s treatment of the characteristics and implications of NFTs, the metaverse, and generative AI involves this journalistic outlet in shaping journalistic, digital, and technological trends that reinforce a sense of constant updating in technological innovation. In addition, it has been found that Wired provides a heterogeneous, comprehensive, and moderate treatment by recognizing the potential of these technologies to impact various aspects of human existence while subjecting them to criticism.