Explaining the Metaverse: Everything You Need to Know About Future of the Internet

Summary

In July 2021, Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta, signaling a major investment in the metaverse, envisioned as the next internet iteration. The metaverse, a collective virtual space for socializing, working, and gaming, is being developed by various companies with different visions. Concerns include technical challenges, corporate control, and social issues like harassment. The future of the metaverse hinges on accessibility, interoperability, and ethical development, with potential economic opportunities for creators.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Mark Zuckerberg has positioned the metaverse as Facebook's future, renaming the company Meta and committing significant investment to its development.
• 🤔 The metaverse is challenging to define but is generally understood as persistent online spaces where people interact via avatars for various activities.
• 🏙️ The concept of the metaverse has been around for decades, with elements present in gaming and virtual communities, but has gained recent prominence.
• 🎮 Popular games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite incorporate virtual, augmented, or mixed reality, offering early glimpses into the potential of the metaverse.
• 📡 Advancements in technology, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), are crucial for creating immersive experiences within the metaverse.
• 🛠️ Critics argue that the technology needs further development to achieve the level of realism and fidelity required for a fully functional metaverse.
• 👥 Concerns about who controls the metaverse's development are raised, with the possibility of corporate influence leading to issues similar to those in social media.
• 🌍 The metaverse's global adoption depends on bridging the digital divide and ensuring internet accessibility for a worldwide user base.
• 💼 The metaverse could revolutionize various sectors, including entertainment, work, and economics, offering new opportunities for job creation and economic participation.
• 🔮 The future of the metaverse remains uncertain, with questions about its widespread adoption, technological challenges, and societal implications to be addressed.

Q & A

What did Mark Zuckerberg do to show his commitment to the metaverse?

Mark Zuckerberg showed his commitment to the metaverse by staking Facebook's future on it, renaming the company to Meta, and promising to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a metaverse platform.

What is the metaverse and why is it difficult to define?

The metaverse is usually described as online spaces where people socialize, work, and play as avatars, digital representations of their identities. It's difficult to define because it's a broad concept that encompasses various technologies and experiences, and it's still an evolving idea.

How is the metaverse expected to evolve the internet?

The metaverse is expected to evolve the internet into a virtual world that parallels our real lives, offering an immersive and persistent online experience that goes beyond the current web browsing and app-based interactions.

What are some examples of existing platforms that incorporate aspects of the metaverse?

Roblox, Minecraft, Second Life, and Fortnite are examples of platforms that have been building virtual worlds and incorporating aspects of virtual, augmented, or mixed reality for years.

What is the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality in the context of the metaverse?

Virtual reality refers to entirely digital spaces accessed through hardware like headsets, immersing users fully in digital worlds. Augmented reality, on the other hand, brings digital objects into the real world, often without the need for a headset, by overlaying digital information onto the user's view of reality.

What are some technical challenges that need to be addressed for the metaverse to deliver high fidelity experiences?

Technical challenges include advancing software to introduce more realistic experiences through higher levels of fidelity, ensuring the technology can deliver the exactness of the real world that the metaverse needs, and making the metaverse accessible on various platforms without sacrificing quality.

Who might build and control the metaverse, and what are the concerns regarding this?

The metaverse could be built and controlled by existing tech companies, which risks repeating social media's issues like bias, bullying, misinformation, and harassment. There are also concerns about the potential for abuse in an immersive environment like the metaverse.

How might the metaverse affect the future of work and economic opportunities?

The metaverse could come to the world of work, with predictions that millions of jobs worldwide will use AR and VR by 2030. It could offer new economic opportunities such as game creation, virtual retail, digital asset trading, and potentially create a new class of economic participants.

What role does interoperability play in the success of the metaverse?

Interoperability is crucial for the success of the metaverse as it allows users to move freely between platforms and experiences. This means that users should be able to use the same avatar or other digital assets across different metaverse platforms.

What are some of the companies currently working on metaverse or metaverse-like projects?

Companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Qualcomm, Nvidia, Valve, Epic, HTC, and Apple are among those working on metaverse or metaverse-like projects.

What are the challenges to widespread adoption of the metaverse?

Challenges to widespread adoption include bridging the digital divide to ensure global accessibility, addressing technical aspects to maintain fidelity across platforms, and ensuring that the metaverse is built with mindful consideration of past technological infrastructures to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 The Emergence of the Metaverse

In July 2021, Mark Zuckerberg declared Facebook's commitment to the metaverse by renaming the company Meta and pledging billions of dollars for its development. The metaverse is an evolving concept, often described as persistent online spaces where users interact via avatars. It's seen as the next phase of the internet, incorporating elements of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and high-speed internet. While the idea has been around for decades, it's now gaining traction with tech companies like Roblox and Minecraft already offering virtual world experiences. The script discusses the potential of the metaverse to transform social interaction and work, but also raises concerns about the need for technical advancements to achieve the desired level of realism and the challenges of building an inclusive and safe virtual space.

05:02

🤖 The Future of the Metaverse and Its Challenges

The script explores the uncertainty surrounding the metaverse's development, with industry standards yet to be established. It discusses the potential for a single, unified metaverse platform versus a collection of competing platforms. Interoperability is highlighted as a key requirement for widespread adoption, allowing users to move seamlessly between different virtual environments. Companies like Meta, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Valve, Epic, HTC, and Apple are all working on metaverse-related projects, but the timeline for these developments remains unclear. The metaverse's potential impact on the job market and economy is also considered, with predictions of millions of jobs involving AR and VR by 2030. The script concludes by emphasizing the importance of mindful development of the metaverse, learning from past technological advancements, and ensuring that it is built with global accessibility and ethical considerations in mind.

Keywords

💡Metaverse

The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual reality. It is described in the script as the expected next iteration of the internet, where people can socialize, work, and play as avatars. The concept is central to the video's theme, as it discusses the potential of the metaverse to transform how we interact online, with companies like Meta investing heavily in its development.

💡Avatar

An avatar, in the context of the metaverse, refers to a digital representation of a person's identity. It is used to depict a user within the virtual spaces of the metaverse. The script mentions avatars as a means for individuals to engage in online spaces, reflecting the video's focus on the immersive and interactive nature of the metaverse.

💡Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality is a technology that creates a simulated environment, which users can interact with through hardware like headsets. The script discusses VR as a key component of the metaverse, allowing for fully immersive digital experiences. It is highlighted as a technology that can make objects in the digital world seem real.

💡Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented Reality is a technology that overlays digital information or objects onto the real world, often without the need for a headset. The script touches on AR as a related technology to VR, suggesting it could be a gateway to broader acceptance of the metaverse by bringing digital elements into our everyday reality.

💡Interoperability

Interoperability refers to the ability of different systems or components to work together. In the script, it is mentioned as crucial for the metaverse's success, as it would allow users to move freely between different platforms and experiences with a consistent identity, like using the same avatar across various metaverse platforms.

💡Digital Divide

The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to technology and the internet, and those who do not. The script points out that addressing the digital divide is essential for the widespread adoption of the metaverse, as it currently excludes a significant portion of the global population who do not have basic internet access.

💡Fidelity

Fidelity in the context of the metaverse refers to the degree of real-world exactness that is digitally reproduced. The script discusses the need for higher fidelity in the metaverse to deliver more realistic experiences, which is a challenge that technology developers are working to overcome.

💡Second Life

Second Life is mentioned in the script as an example of an existing virtual world that has been around for years, incorporating aspects of virtual reality. It serves as an example of how the concept of the metaverse has been present in different forms before becoming a mainstream discussion.

💡Economic Opportunities

The script highlights the potential economic opportunities that the metaverse could offer, such as game creation, virtual retail, and digital asset trading. It suggests that the metaverse could become a lucrative space for creators and a new platform for economic participation.

💡Hybrid Work Model

A hybrid work model refers to a combination of remote work and traditional office work. The script speculates that with more companies adopting this model, the metaverse could extend into the professional workspace, indicating a potential future where work and virtual environments are more closely integrated.

💡Token Economics

Token economics relates to the use of digital tokens or cryptocurrencies in the context of the metaverse for transactions and value exchange. The script suggests that token economics could be a way for a new class of economic participants to benefit from the shift towards the metaverse, indicating a potential future where digital assets and currencies play a significant role in the virtual economy.

Highlights

Mark Zuckerberg's commitment to the metaverse by renaming Facebook to Meta and investing billions.

The metaverse is described as online spaces for socializing, working, and playing as digital avatars.

The metaverse is still a vague concept for many outside the tech industry.

The metaverse combines virtual reality, augmented reality, and high-speed internet for a virtual space.

Meta and other companies see the metaverse as an evolution of the internet, paralleling real-world lives.

The idea of the metaverse has been around for decades, with gaming experiences like Roblox and Minecraft.

Virtual reality provides fully immersive digital spaces through specialized hardware.

Augmented reality overlays digital objects onto the real world, often without the need for a headset.

The metaverse's fidelity and realism are improving but still require technological advancements.

Concerns about who builds and controls the metaverse, with risks of repeating social media's issues.

The potential for abuse in the metaverse due to its immersive nature.

User-generated content is considered a key component in building the metaverse.

Interoperability among metaverse platforms is crucial for user adoption.

Challenges in creating a unified metaverse experience across different platforms.

Tech giants like Qualcomm, Nvidia, Valve, Epic, HTC, and Apple are working on metaverse projects.

The metaverse could revolutionize work with remote collaboration and training.

Economic opportunities in the metaverse include game creation, virtual retail, and digital asset trading.

The metaverse's global adoption depends on bridging the digital divide and internet accessibility.

The need for deliberate choices in building the metaverse to avoid past technological mistakes.

Transcripts

[Music]

in july 2021 mark zuckerberg staked

facebook's future on the metaverse

to prove he was serious he renamed the

company meta and promised to spend

billions of dollars to rebuild a

metaverse platform

he isn't alone other companies are also

working on their plans for the metaverse

the expected next iteration of the

internet

[Music]

the metaverse is difficult to define

it's usually described as online spaces

where people socialize work and play as

avatars digital representations of their

identities

unlike a zoom chat the spaces don't

disappear when you're done

they're there for someone else to use

though it's often name checked in the

tech world the metaverse is still a

fuzzy idea for people outside the

industry i mean the metaverse is clearly

a term of great currency in this moment

in time and i think for right now 2022

the metaverse is a

story we are telling about what the

future of technical infrastructures

might look like when you combine virtual

reality augmented reality

high-speed internet connections and some

kind of notion of a virtual space you

might occupy with other people so

an easy answer to the metaverse is well

it's you know the next version of the

future of computing the more complicated

answer is of course it's a story about

how we imagine the world

[Music]

meta and other companies tout the

metaverse as an evolution of the

internet a virtual world that parallels

our lives in the real world

but it's an idea that's been tossed

around for decades and tried before one

of the other ways to think about the

metaverse is that it's always already

existed uh in different pockets of the

world right so whether you were someone

engaging in

gaming experiences whether those were

multiplayer games or whether those were

deeply immersive games

if you were

engaging in other kinds of online

communities there's an argument to say

that the metaverse is already here just

wasn't called that roblox and minecraft

have been building virtual worlds for

years

second life fortnight minecraft and

other games all incorporate aspects of

virtual augmented or mixed reality to

create an immersive gaming experience

for users

if you're unfamiliar with the term

virtual reality refers to entirely

digital spaces that are accessed through

hardware like the oculus headset these

headsets use special lens technology

cameras and motion tracking controllers

to fully immerse you in their digital

worlds where objects can seem real even

when they

aren't augmented reality is a related

but different technology

ar brings digital objects into the real

world often with no headset required

though there are some ar headsets on the

market

some experts see augmented reality as a

gateway to broader acceptance of the

metaverse the technology has continued

to advance and continue to

uh find touch points in all of our lives

whether it's through you know mobile

phones connected to the internet or

other forms of connectivity smart tv all

those sort of pieces of the puzzle

[Music]

advances in software have introduced

users to more realistic experiences

through higher levels of fidelity the

degree of real-world exactness that's

digitally reproduced however critics say

more work is needed in order for the

technology to deliver the fidelity the

metaverse needs

it can be easy to

you know get carried away in like this

nirvana state of of what's being sold to

us but we need to think about what's

right in front of us right now we're now

starting to see

um some metaverses being made available

on mobile platforms uh you know as well

as through even the web browser

uh so we're starting to see a shift

towards accessibility um you know that

also comes typically at the cost of

fidelity

beyond the technical aspects of the

metaverse another area of concern is who

builds and controls the metaverse a

corporate version of the metaverse one

that's built by existing tech companies

risks repeating problems that already

plague social media some people worry

bias bullying misinformation and

harassment could even be magnified in

the metaverse because it's an immersive

environment

it's one thing to send 180 characters to

somebody over twitter and another thing

entirely to bully somebody in a

metaverse type space where your brain

has tricked you into feeling like you're

really there

that's i think the potential for abuse

in the metaverse that

the argument that maybe we need to get

ahead of this

other critics believe that

user-generated content will be the

building blocks of the metaverse like

current and previous iterations of

virtual platforms like the game's second

life

but even in second life larger entities

like corporations and businesses still

had a hand in shaping the space i'm not

sure it's as straightforward as saying

it's either large tech companies or it's

user generated i think it's usually a

little bit of drift between both of

those things

and i think that undercourse the role of

governments in all of this and the role

of sort of social institutions

whether the metaverse will come together

as a single platform is an open question

right now industry standards don't exist

for the metaverse that means big

companies are competing to lay the

foundation others will have to follow

a pattern that was established with the

development of the internet one of the

really interesting facets of the

metaverse and of calling this

constellation of technologies and

experiences as the metaverse is that it

creates the opportunity to build a

platform and the thing about platforms

is that if you build them right which is

usually open and with standards you can

move things between pieces of the

platform so you know when we think about

the internet whilst we may experience it

via a particular service provider or a

particular device the underlying

architecture is such that it can be

delivered in lots of different places

zuckerberg arguably metaverse's biggest

champion says interoperability among

applications is crucial to get people to

use the metaverse

that means companies will need to

collaborate so people using the

metaverse can move freely between

platforms and experiences

for instance if you have an avatar in

meta's metaverse ideally you should be

able to use the same avatar when moving

to a microsoft platform

that however is easier said than done

if you're familiar with the roblox style

um lego like experience um compare that

to something like fortnite trying to

take your character just take it over to

fortnite and make it work there it just

wouldn't work you actually need to have

two completely different iterations or

models of your your avatar that's where

i think fundamentally they're just

straight up challenges that exist

because no two metaverses really are

delivering you know a common experience

qualcomm nvidia valve epic htc and apple

are among the companies working on

metaverse or metaverse-like projects how

or when these projects develop is

anyone's guess game and entertainment

companies like stageverse which

digitally reproduce concerts and

festivals have been operating in a

metaverse-like environment for years but

with more companies adopting a hybrid

work model the metaverse could also come

to the world of work

a 2020 report from consultancy pwc

predicts that nearly 23 and a half

million jobs worldwide will use ar and

vr by 2030. the technology will be used

for tasks like employee training

meetings and customer service according

to pwc

the metaverse could also offer new

economic opportunities such as game

creation virtual retail or digital asset

trading

the virtual world could be a source of

real money i think there's a good

argument that over the long run you

could potentially create a new class of

economic participants who could share in

the upside of this new platform shift

right through maybe token economics

through game mechanics and so forth that

you're already starting to see

but i think the metaverse is

potentially a really lucrative place for

creators to kind of populate this new

world

and um and make a great living doing so

how widespread the metaverse becomes is

in part dependent on how many people get

on the internet a little less than

two-thirds of the world's population had

access to the internet in 2021 according

to the itu

without basic accessibility to the

internet widespread adoption among a

global community of users will be a

challenge

companies building the metaverse will

need to first see the digital divide is

bridged if they want their virtual world

to attract people from around the globe

when i think about the metabolism my

hope for it is that we can

be really mindful about what's happened

when we've built large technology

apparatus and infrastructure in the past

and that as a result we go into this a

little less naive and a little more

deliberate about the choices we make

that also means as citizens we have an

obligation to hold the organizations and

our lives accountable to the values that

we care about

[Music]

it's unclear whether the metaverse live

up to the promises or fail to live up to

the hype

what is clear you're sure to be hearing

more about the metaphors for years to

come