Explaining the Metaverse: Everything You Need to Know About Future of the Internet
Summary
TLDRIn 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
- ๐ Mark Zuckerberg has positioned the metaverse as Facebook's future, renaming the company Meta and committing significant investment to its development.
- ๐ค The metaverse is challenging to define but is generally understood as persistent online spaces where people interact via avatars for various activities.
- ๐๏ธ The concept of the metaverse has been around for decades, with elements present in gaming and virtual communities, but has gained recent prominence.
- ๐ฎ Popular games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite incorporate virtual, augmented, or mixed reality, offering early glimpses into the potential of the metaverse.
- ๐ก Advancements in technology, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), are crucial for creating immersive experiences within the metaverse.
- ๐ ๏ธ Critics argue that the technology needs further development to achieve the level of realism and fidelity required for a fully functional metaverse.
- ๐ฅ 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.
- ๐ The metaverse's global adoption depends on bridging the digital divide and ensuring internet accessibility for a worldwide user base.
- ๐ผ The metaverse could revolutionize various sectors, including entertainment, work, and economics, offering new opportunities for job creation and economic participation.
- ๐ฎ 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
๐ 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.
๐ค 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กMetaverse
๐กAvatar
๐กVirtual Reality (VR)
๐กAugmented Reality (AR)
๐กInteroperability
๐กDigital Divide
๐กFidelity
๐กSecond Life
๐กEconomic Opportunities
๐กHybrid Work Model
๐กToken Economics
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
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