There used to be a thin red line between so many of our neuro-functions and that being manipulated to gain power and money by data giants.

It happened with the coke formula, using yellow to grab our attention for billboards and logos, hacking our dopamine system for social media, and whatnot.

What makes you think that the same won't happen with our sense of smell? That it won't be exploited to make us addicted to alternate reality?

Smells trigger memory.

If Metaverse knows how I love the smell of my mother's vanilla cupcakes, what stops them from using it to make me buy fake cakes that I actually can't eat but can't stop myself from swooning over, either.