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Announcing Next Level, a new Verge video series premiering next week

Announcing Next Level, a new Verge video series premiering next week

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We’re taking you to the Next Level

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There’s the technology we use and see every day — the smartphones, laptops, apps, cameras, and cars that permeate our lives — and then there’s the technology being developed behind the scenes, the technology that is yet to be seen. Or, it’s out there, but it’s so new that its impact is still unknown. This is the next-level stuff.

Which is why we’re so excited to bring you our latest Verge video series, Next Level, hosted and produced by senior editor Lauren Goode and directed by Tyler Pina and Vjeran Pavic. In this new series, we’re taking you into the labs and research institutions where some of the most innovative, most bizarre concepts and prototypes are being developed.

We’re taking a spin through modular aircraft cabins, exploring “prescription” video games, letting scientists track our emotional reactions to movies and TV shows, and we’re weighing the implications of all of this fast-moving technology. And we’re not done yet: we’re still in the process of taping more episodes, and we want to hear what it is you want to learn more about. Because while all of this has the potential to dramatically change how humans interact with tech, it also has the potential to push boundaries in ways we’re not ready for yet.

The tech industry, perhaps more than any other industry, is identified by its innovative spirit. With that level of innovation comes all kinds of pitfalls, too: the hubris, the winner-takes-all approach, the seeming lack of concern for how new tech will really impact people. Gadgets, in that way, are safe; they’re already out there, we know how they work, and we bargain with their makers: I’ll buy this in exchange for this.

Next-level tech is different: it’s sometimes inaccessible, intangible, or we just don’t know enough about it yet. And that’s exactly why we’re exploring it.