Metaverse: The Future of the Internet? | Qatar Economic Forum

Summary

In this discussion, industry experts delve into the burgeoning metaverse, exploring its potential as the future of the internet, underpinned by gaming technology and blockchain. They highlight the metaverse's immersive capabilities, particularly in real estate where virtual walkthroughs can revolutionize property sales. The conversation also touches on challenges like regulation, harassment, and the environmental impact of technology, emphasizing the need for standards and responsible growth as the metaverse evolves.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The metaverse is envisioned as the future of the Internet, integrating video game technology and potentially blockchain on the backend.
• 🏡 Exposure's company is involved in video game commerce, with a presence in popular platforms like Fortnite and Roblox.
• 🔗 The metaverse aims to replicate real-life experiences, including spaces, staff, and people, but in a virtual environment.
• 🏠 Russian is developing an end-to-end sales platform in the metaverse, focusing on property sales and providing immersive experiences for buyers.
• 👁️‍🗨️ The metaverse offers a new way to visualize and interact with property, allowing potential buyers to experience and customize their future homes.
• 📈 There's a current shift in focus from the metaverse to generative AI, with the latter gaining more public and investor interest due to its ease of use.
• 🏎️ The audience's interest in the metaverse leans towards using it for extreme sports experiences, indicating a preference for action and engagement.
• 🛡️ Regulation and safety within the metaverse are important, with discussions on how to mitigate risks such as harassment and disinformation.
• 🌍 The metaverse's growth is tied to advancements in technology, such as 5G and graphical chips, and the need for new standards for cross-platform interaction.
• 💡 The future of the metaverse includes the potential for digital items to interact with the physical world, creating new forms of value and interaction.

Q & A

What is the company Exposure's primary business focus?

Exposure is a company that has created a solution for video game commerce, particularly for platforms like Fortnite and Roblox.

What does the speaker envision for the metaverse in terms of its structure?

The speaker envisions the metaverse as a form of the future Internet, built with video game technology on the frontend and potentially blockchain technology on the backend, featuring virtual environments, items, and characters similar to real-life spaces.

How does the speaker describe the current state of property sales in the metaverse?

The speaker describes the current state as an end-to-end sales platform that allows for immersive experiences, enabling customers to visualize and customize their off-plan homes within the metaverse.

What is the timeframe for the launch of the metaverse sales platform MVP?

The speaker hopes to launch the first MVP of the platform later in the current year, with VR integration expected towards the end of the year or early next year.

How does the speaker view the competition between the metaverse and generative AI in terms of resources and investment?

The speaker believes that generative AI has taken the lead in the short term due to its popularity and ease of use, attracting more public and investor interest. However, the metaverse remains significant for the long term.

What are some of the future use cases the speaker is considering for the metaverse beyond property sales?

The speaker is considering various applications within the metaverse, including sporting events, retail transactions, and customer service.

What is the speaker's perspective on the importance of interoperability between different virtual worlds in the metaverse?

The speaker believes that the moment when users can move from one virtual world to another with their items will be a significant step towards the realization of the metaverse as a new form of the Internet.

How does the speaker address the issue of harassment and disinformation in the metaverse?

The speaker suggests that the same regulations and rules that apply to the current Internet should apply to the metaverse, emphasizing the need for moderation and control.

What are the speaker's thoughts on the environmental impact of new technologies like the metaverse?

The speaker acknowledges the importance of working with technology providers focused on green computing and energy efficiency, as well as considering hosting solutions that minimize waste.

What are the challenges the speaker identifies for the widespread adoption of the metaverse?

The speaker identifies the need for improved connectivity and the establishment of standards for businesses to work together within the metaverse as key challenges for its widespread adoption.

How does the speaker view the current regulations on the metaverse space, and are they sufficient?

The speaker believes that regulations for the metaverse should be similar to those for the Internet, emphasizing the need for proper regulations to address potential issues similar to those found in social networks.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Embracing the Metaverse for Real Estate and Gaming Commerce

The speaker introduces Exposure, a company that specializes in video game commerce, and discusses its vision for the metaverse as the future Internet, built with gaming technology on the frontend and potentially blockchain on the backend. The metaverse is envisioned as a virtual environment with spaces, staff, and people, akin to real life but in a 3D Internet space. The company is excited about the potential of the metaverse, particularly in the context of property sales in Saudi Arabia, where they are incorporating immersive experiences to help customers visualize and customize their future homes in the metaverse.

05:04

🏠 Integrating Metaverse Experiences with Real Estate Sales

The speaker from Russian discusses the development of an end-to-end sales platform that integrates the metaverse to enhance the home buying experience. The platform aims to provide immersive walkthroughs of communities and homes, allowing potential buyers to visualize and customize their future living spaces. The metaverse is used to overcome the challenge of visualizing off-plan homes, offering a full immersive experience that can lead to a more informed purchasing decision. The speaker also mentions future plans to expand the metaverse's use to include sporting events, retail transactions, and customer service.

10:06

📈 The Future of Metaverse Adoption and its Challenges

The conversation turns to the future of the metaverse, with a focus on the growth of virtual worlds like Roblox and Fortnite, which the speaker refers to as 'virtual worlds' rather than the metaverse. The speaker predicts that the metaverse will become more interconnected, allowing users to move between different virtual worlds with their items, similar to hyperlinks on the current Internet. The tipping point for widespread adoption is expected to come when improvements in hardware and platform development intersect, making the experience more accessible and natural for users, particularly younger generations who are already engaged with these platforms.

15:08

🛡️ Addressing Risks and Regulations in the Metaverse

The speakers address the challenges of harassment and disinformation in the metaverse, comparing it to the current Internet and emphasizing the need for similar regulations and moderation. They discuss the importance of multinational cooperation in establishing standards and regulations for the metaverse, as well as the need for businesses to adapt to changing laws and platform rules. The conversation also touches on the environmental impact of new technologies, with the speaker from Russian mentioning partnerships with technology providers to ensure energy-efficient computing and the consideration of hosting facilities closer to the region to reduce energy consumption.

Keywords

💡Metaverse

The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual reality. In the video, it is described as the future of the Internet, built with video game technology on the front end and potentially blockchain on the back end, indicating a vision where it's more than a virtual environment—it's a space with virtual items, characters, and environments that mimic real life. The script discusses the metaverse's potential in various applications, such as property sales and immersive experiences.

💡Video Game Commerce

Video game commerce refers to the economic activity within video games, including the sale of in-game items, virtual currency, and other digital assets. The script mentions a company that has created a solution for this, implying their involvement in processing payments for popular games like Fortnite and Roblox, which is a significant part of the ecosystem that could contribute to the development of the metaverse.

💡Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger that records transactions across multiple computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. In the context of the video, it is suggested as a foundational technology for the metaverse, potentially underpinning transactions, asset ownership, and security within virtual environments.

💡Immersive Experience

An immersive experience is one that fully engages the audience by surrounding them with a consistent and comprehensive environment. In the video, the concept is applied to the metaverse, where potential home buyers can experience a walkthrough of communities and homes in a 3D space, making it easier to visualize and understand the spaces they are considering purchasing.

💡Property Sales

Property sales refer to the process of buying and selling real estate. The script discusses how this traditional market is being integrated into the metaverse, with the example of a company incorporating virtual property tours and sales directly within the virtual environment, offering a new way for consumers to engage with the property market.

💡Generative AI

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can generate new content, such as text, images, or music, based on existing data. The video mentions that generative AI, like GPT, has gained significant public and investor interest, and while it may currently be overshadowing the metaverse in terms of popularity, it also suggests a potential synergy between AI and the metaverse for creating compelling virtual experiences.

💡Web 3D

Web 3D refers to the use of three-dimensional worlds and objects within the context of the internet. The script distinguishes between Web 3 (the next generation of the internet with decentralized technologies) and Web 3D, which is more about the three-dimensional aspect of the internet experience. The speaker is excited about the prospect of a 3D internet, which is a core component of the metaverse vision.

💡Spatial Computing

Spatial computing is the use of 3D environments and spatial data to create interactive and immersive experiences. In the video, it is suggested that spatial computing will bring the metaverse and virtual worlds to a new level of experience, indicating that advancements in this area will be crucial for the widespread adoption of metaverse technologies.

💡Connectivity

In the context of the metaverse, connectivity refers to the ability to seamlessly move between different virtual environments or platforms. The script identifies the need for better connectivity and standards between businesses as a key challenge for the metaverse's success, highlighting the importance of interoperability for a cohesive metaverse experience.

💡Regulation

Regulation in the context of the video pertains to the rules and policies that govern the operation and use of digital platforms, including the metaverse. The speakers agree on the necessity of regulation to ensure safety, privacy, and fairness within the metaverse, drawing parallels to the current regulatory landscape of the internet.

💡Digital Items

Digital items are virtual objects or assets that exist within digital platforms or environments. The script suggests that digital items could have real-world applications, such as coupons or loyalty points, and could be used to reward user engagement across both physical and virtual spaces, indicating a potential blending of digital and physical economies.

Highlights

The metaverse is envisioned as a future form of the Internet, built with video game technology on the frontend and potentially blockchain technology on the backend.

Exposure is a company that facilitates video game commerce, with their name possibly appearing on credit card bills due to transactions in games like Fortnite or Roblox.

The metaverse is not just a virtual environment but includes virtual items, characters, and spaces similar to real life, but in a virtual form.

Excitement lies in the potential of Web 3D, which is seen as more significant than Web three, indicating a shift towards 3D internet experiences.

Russian is developing an end-to-end sales platform in the metaverse for property sales in Saudi Arabia, aiming to provide immersive experiences for viewing and customizing homes.

The metaverse can offer a full immersive experience, aiding in the visualization and customization of off-plan homes, enhancing the sales journey.

The first MVP of the metaverse property sales platform is expected to launch later this year, with VR integration planned for the end of the year or early next year.

Generative AI has gained more popularity and consumer interest compared to the metaverse, leading to more startups focusing on AI.

The metaverse is still considered dominant in the long term, despite generative AI taking the lead in the short term.

The future of the metaverse involves 3D websites, or 'meta sites,' where users can interact with NPCs and brand representatives, offering new forms of engagement.

The widespread adoption of the metaverse is expected to increase as technology improves and becomes more affordable and accessible.

The metaverse is not limited to VR headsets but is a connection between the virtual and physical worlds, with potential uses like digital coupons or loyalty points.

Saudi Arabia's high mobile phone usage and young median age make the region a promising candidate for metaverse adoption.

The metaverse's potential issues, such as harassment and disinformation, are seen as similar to those on the current internet, requiring similar regulations and moderation.

Strategies to mitigate risks in the metaverse include creating closed and controlled platforms, which can better manage user interactions and content.

Energy use is a consideration for metaverse technologies, with a focus on working with technology providers to ensure green and energy-efficient computing.

Regulations for the metaverse are expected to follow the same principles as those for the internet, emphasizing the need for consistent rules and moderation.

The metaverse's success hinges on connectivity and standardization between businesses, allowing for seamless interaction and item transfer across different virtual worlds.

Transcripts

Sure. Just starting with you about solar and

what you're doing in the metaverse space.

Well, I mean, talk to me a little bit about your vision for it.

What exactly is the vision when it comes to solar and what you're trying to do in

this ecosystem? Thank you for having me.

So exposure is is a company who created a solution for video game commerce.

If you play in Fortnite or Roblox, you might find my company name on your

credit card bill. I believe the the metaverse.

It's a it's a form of the future Internet.

And it's going to be built with video games,

technology on the frontend and maybe blockchain technology on the

backend and. It's going to it's not just a virtual

environment. It's like in real life where we have

spaces. Staff and people.

So in virtual worlds we already have that.

But in the metaverse, we're going to have the

virtual environment. Virtual items and characters.

In other words, the future is of the Internet.

What's excites me the most is not the Web three.

It's a Web 3D. And Josh, I think what Russian is doing

in this space is quite exciting. You're incorporating property sales with

the metaverse in Saudi Arabia. Talk to me a little bit about how that

is working out, what you know, what are you envisioning here?

So thanks. Thanks for having me here.

Trevor, What we have built in Russian today

essentially is a complete end to end sales platform that we have today.

Right. And to supply this to our suppliers,

we've seen people actually buy homes online.

And this is a behavioral change, and that's an immersive experience.

And today we're looking in adding the immersive experience because what we

sell are homes that are off plan. Visualizing them.

It's is very difficult. Today, all you see is to react to the

drawings. You see spaces that are four meters by

four meters, but is very hard to imagine for an end user.

So bringing the metaverse onto that gives people a full immersive experience

in terms of what the walkthroughs of the communities are going to be looking like

from the outside and inside the homes as well.

But incorporating that with the sales journey that we've kind of built will

allow people not only to render the space, understand the space that they

are going to be purchasing, but also to be able to customize them.

You don't like certain furnishing. You want to kind of change the

floor tiles. For an example.

You have all of these options within the metaverse and being able to check that

out and finish your sales journey and actually be at our property owner.

So that's one of the first use cases that we are looking into, but we are

also looking into many, many apps within the metaverse.

So bringing sporting events, football, tennis and so on and so forth within

within the realm and of course have got other use cases that are coming up to be

able to do retail transactions and stuff like that, and also customer service

within the realm of Metaverse. Okay.

And sticking with you, first of all, I want to know when this product would

come to market and when, you know, you'll see yourself start to sell

property based on people seeing it in the metaverse.

So we hope to launch later this year, the first MVP of the platform and

like VR towards the end of the year or maybe early next year, will start

transacting onto the platform. But nonetheless, our current digital

platform will really allow that to happen.

So you can actually buy a Russian home completely and to him on the platform

and share it coming back to you. And I guess, you know, a follow up to

you as well, Josh, but when it comes to resources, investment and money

allocation, does it feel like the metaverse has taken sort of a backseat

to generative AI since Chad GPT was, you know, came to market,

in my opinion, yes, definitely. And the reason being is because of the

popularity and the ease of use of generative air.

It's it's more consumer driven, There's a lot more interest from the public,

there's a lot more interest from the investors.

You'll see a lot more startups being born that are focusing on generative

A.I., But nonetheless, the metaverse is is still very dominant.

It's going to be there for from a long term perspective.

What from a short term? Short term perspective, Yes.

Generative VR is definitely taking the lead for now Trick.

I imagine in the future you're working on this 3D websites, which is called

meta sites and you can meet Non-Player character and because of the

API, those characters could be much more compelling when they're, let's say, a

robot representative what they have over the on the

800 number. So I believe in the future brands are

going to be have their brand representative from brand ambassadors in

in the and those virtual worlds and is enabling that and I believe that's still

going to be very compelling and deep connections opportunities for the

brands to connect with the the audience. Okay.

And before we get to our next question, I just want to bring the poll question

to the audience now. And the question is, what would you use

the metaverse for? And you have three options there Create

an alter ego, try out extreme sports or travel the world without moving.

So allow the audience some time to sort of answer that question

before we bring the answers and get back to you guys.

But moving on with this conversation, trick is sticking with you about the

widespread adoption of the metaverse. A lot of applications feel like meetings

with Avatar right now, avatars right now.

I certainly tried, you know, using a VR headset to do an exercise class.

It didn't it didn't go very well. But I mean, companies that are now

trying to be innovative with with gaming and interest.

Men such as yours. And you mentioned roadblocks.

In the beginning, they seemed to be having trouble

finding new ways to grow their platforms.

So where do you think is growth going to come from and what is the tipping point

for really widespread use of this tech and wider participation in the

metaverse? So today, Metaverse companies, which is

represented by Roblox and Fortnite, they, they, they they actually I call

them virtual worlds, not, not the Metaverse then Atlas is the only one

like it's like the Internet and the 2D metaverse moment is going to happen when

when you can walk from the portal from the

Roblox to the Fortnite kid some of the items with you and that's

similar like a hyperlink and it's going to be Internet on future

trash. So I think I go back in history, right?

So if you look at, you know, a movie back in in 1985, Back to the Future,

too, you started seeing characters wearing

virtual reality glasses. Right.

And here we are today. And that was supposed to be 2015

cosplaying. Everybody is on a VR glasses, but

nonetheless, nine years later, we are still looking at today you see Oculus,

you see Mythic Quest, you see Apple Vision as a product.

People are using it right? But you also see the generations of

teenagers between the age of 12 and 18 who are on Roblox, who are on a

Fortnite, and given the fact that both are moving in parallel.

So you're going to see improvements in terms of the form factor off of these

devices, which is going to get smaller, which is going to get faster, which is

going to be more affordable, and you're going to get this generation who who's

who's been playing Fortnite, who who's been playing road blocks and which will

world comes very naturally to them. And it feels very natural for them to

to be on the platform and to do things on the platform.

So the intersection between the hardware and the platform coming in in a couple

of years or maybe the next decade is going to be a perfect intersection where

the adoption is going to skyrocket. And that's in my opinion, because you

have the demand, you have the devices. Spatial computing is going to bring

metaverse and the virtual world to a whole new experience.

So you're going to get widespread adoption at the point of time.

I want to add the VR headsets is just a subset of the metaverse, maybe tiny

subset of the metaverse. The future of the metaverse.

It's a it's a connection between

virtual what's in the and the physical world.

So you can easily imagine you can use digital items in the physical world.

Think about like a coupon course is just or some

loyalty points is could be in the form of the digital items.

So you can everywhere you go right now you are touching the cookies.

I can easily imagine in the future. Every times you visit this website or

location in a physical world, you can accept the

token of appreciation for your attention in the form of the digital items, which

is going to unlock some benefits later on.

Right. And Trish, coming back to you about, you

know, something that you mentioned and certainly what it feels like, who's

occupying the space right now. Your idea is, you know, what Russian is

doing with this space is quite you know, it's brand new.

I certainly have never heard of, you know, a company selling property,

bringing in, you know, what the property would be

envisioned in into the metaverse. We're based in the Middle East.

You're based in Saudi Arabia. And we spoke about this a little bit

backstage. When it comes to off plan sales and

incorporating the metaverse into into this, you know, into with clients

purchasing them. Do you think the region is quite ready

for for this idea? Absolutely.

And I think if you look at Saudi Arabia, penetration of a mobile phone usage is

almost close to 100%. Right.

The median age of the general population is is at the age of 25 to 30 years old.

So the adoption of technology is very high and people in nature are very

visual. People like visual aids, people like

things that are more appealing to the eye.

So I think, yes, the region is definitely ready.

Right. Just I just want to bring back the

results for the poll, for the poll question to see what the audience what

the audience voted on. So create an alter ego.

Got 13%. Try out extreme sports for 47% traveled

the world without moving 40% duration. I think we need to to add buy a property

and see what the audience would vote on. But what do you make of these?

What do you make of these results? Sure.

I'm interested in. In your thoughts?

Well, I am actually not surprised by the extreme split opposing the action games.

That's that's what video games for today.

I think the metaverse is going to be just much more engagement and and

connected. Right.

Coming back to our conversation about some problems that we've seen in the

space lately, such as

harassment and disinformation. What do you I want to hear both of your

thoughts about what you think can be done to mitigate those risks in this

space. Sure.

Starting with you, maybe. I don't think the metaverse is radically

different than the than the internet and everything.

Every. Regulations and rules.

What we currently have or we want to have in the Internet is going to be

applied for the for the metaverse.

It's a moderation balance control.

And and I think it's endless debate and about rules and regulations

and. And would you consider putting

protections in place to again decrease the risk of such of such risks?

What would those protections look like? There's a there's a

complexity of the law. And and

when you when you have a multinational business and metaverse, I hope it's

going to be a multinational project source similar to the Internet.

So with the laws which regulate today's Internet activities and the rules of the

of the platforms, and it's it's some of the people who are doing business on

Internet is complaining about the laws and regulations and complexity of data

in the video games. What we learn is like

we in addition to that, we also have the rules and terms and conditions of the

platforms on the mega platforms, which is

updating very, very often.

And it's not consistent from Europe. The US and Apple rules is a change in

like actually twice a week now. And we monitoring that and and it's very

important for the for the businesses and very critical for the businesses to do

that. Right.

And Josh, when you when you started this idea in your company, did you did you

look at those risks where there is sort of, you know, was there a strategy to

sort of mitigate those risks from being applicable to your platform?

I think I think because our systems and the ideology behind what we want to

build is slightly more closed. It's more ringfence.

So there's slightly more better control in terms of who's on the platform or

what they can do. So we don't have widespread

bigger problems, like what would you face on the general matter was on the

net. So I think that's a slightly of an

advantage to us that we can control in terms of what we do on a platform

perspective. And because we because we are

introducing a very different concept. But the idea behind that is to really

ignite and accelerate the sales on the platform, right?

Rather than being the social element of it, which is we will probably slightly

later once we bring the social element to that.

And then that's probably we may need to learn from, from the industry in terms

of what are the best practices to be to be applied before we enable those

features. Right.

One of the things we're finding with is that, you know, having new technologies

such as the one we're talking about right now, like generate generative AI

as well in crypto is the impact they're expected to have on energy use.

Is this something that you're considering?

Is is something you're looking at? Is this something you're actively trying

to tackle, just maybe starting with? Yeah.

So for me, from from a consumer and perspective, we work with the big

technology providers out there. We work with with the large hyperscalers

out there who have the same agenda of providing green computing and providing

energy efficient computing to customers like us.

All right. So working with the likes of Amazon,

Google and Microsoft as well, who have their

focus on providing really energy efficient and of course, we'll look into

hosting slightly closer to the region to ensure that we can host it

as close as within the country. And and last but not least, is also to

ensure that, you know, the way we host our computing facilities are also based

on schedule, based on containerization, where we can really eliminate waste on

the cloud as well. So yeah, sure.

I think. All the technologies enabling the

metaverse is already here. The scale and distribution of it.

It's a critical for the metaverse success.

The 5G technologies and graphical chips for rendering

photorealistic virtual worlds is is is not

large enough to convert billions of users to the metaverse.

But all the technology is here. The biggest challenge is going to be

connectivity between the businesses and come up with

the standards. How two businesses are going to work

together to become this new new Internet standards and get the

items from one virtual world to another, virtual worlds and many others

challenges. And I guess one more bonus question for

the both of you again, about regulation. We've seen a lot of you know, a lot of

what's been happening around regulating the air space.

Do you think there should be more or less or, you know, current regulations

on the metaverse space? Are they sufficient?

What do you think? Sure.

I believe regulation for the Internet, it's very much a way for the regulation

on a metaverse. Okay.

Absolutely. And I think I concur on that, that it is

required. We need to have proper regulatory

regulations because you're looking at a generation that's going to come onto the

platform and you're going to have the same dilemma that you have today with

with the social networks. You're going to have problems in the

metaverse as well. So.

All right. Well, thank you both for your time and

thank you for the audience for answering those that question.

I really did enjoy this conversation about a space that I'm learning more

about, but we're right on time. Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.