Likewise, Stephenson was riffing on the existing technologies of the internet and VR[1][2] by performing the simple trick of asking what happens when these technologies get better, smaller, cheaper and more widely available. Honestly, the speculative part of scifi is the easy part. The credit due these artists is in their fantastic story telling abilities and their world building around the what ifs. They shouldn't get the credit for inventing the technology itself since it a) already existed and b) the notion of it getting better over time is fairly universal and not driven solely by their visions.
[0] https://www.openculture.com/2023/01/bell-telephone-launched-...