The Metaverse: The New Frontier
What is the Metaverse? It is a question that most people likely ask when they hear the word. Facebook’s “Metaverse,” is the virtual or augmented reality (VR) world created by the company which is now known as Meta. The technology is labeled the “platform of tomorrow” and aims to replace the platforms of today. The Metaverse, perhaps presciently, derives its name from Neal Stephenson’s dystopian science fiction novel. But beyond this highly abridged overview of what the Metaverse is, more importantly, what does it mean for the world of tomorrow?
MMORPGs or massively multiplayer online role-playing games like Second Life can be seen as precursors to what the Metaverse will be like: a realistic, virtual world that closely imitates the real world. But the Metaverse is likely to be far more complex and ambitious, with the ability to replicate and simulate the functions of everyday life in a wide range and knit together multiple platforms and worlds to create a fully-functioning, immersive, highly participatory world that integrates into the real world seamlessly—an “embodied internet” of sorts. A fully-fledged digital economy could spring forth, with digital real estate and digital goods being traded. Marc Petit, vice president of Unreal Engine, a virtual reality game, describes it as being large scale, “real-time,” “synchronous,” and with “continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications, and payments.” The feasibility of the Metaverse may depend upon these qualities. According to John David N. Dionisio, an “integrated” Metaverse would rely on its “immersive realism, the ubiquity of access and identity, interoperability, and scalability.”
While the idea of such a technological feat may be appealing, there are also many trepidations that may arise. Beyond the fact that internet crimes and safety issues would likely be magnified on this new platform, another pressing issue is information privacy. Facebook has long been known for its poor track record with data privacy. With technology sectors like VR outpacing proper regulations or their risks even understood, data gathering by Meta or the government could become more pernicious than ever before, leading to a “world without privacy,” as the New York Times ominously wrote. In particular, the immersion of the Metaverse could make surreptitious and constant data collection even more ludicrously easy and undetectable than ever before. Extended reality (XR) is a rapidly burgeoning digital field. Lawmakers and ethicists may struggle to keep up with the new technology which will leave gaps for exploitation and misuse.
However, another, perhaps more concrete issue, is this: would it even be possible for people with such concerns, or other ones, to avoid interaction with the Metaverse? Mark Zuckerberg has labeled Metaverse as “the next frontier in connecting people, just like social networking was when we got started.” And he may indeed be right: the Metaverse could end up becoming as integral as Facebook or other social media platforms to everyday communication, making participation in the Metaverse nearly unavoidable. Given how omnipotent and integrated with reality the Metaverse may be, this is entirely possible, and even probable.
Mark Zuckerberg said he expected VR to, “…change the way we work, play and communicate,” which seems a highly plausible goal, given the way social media did the same a generation ago. For the next generation, which will likely be as accustomed to the intertwining of new social media platforms with everyday life, just as Gen-Z is with social media, enters the workforce. The workplace will also likely adapt accordingly to incorporate VR.
The concept that platforms like the Metaverse could entirely transform the way we live, work, and communicate within the span of a generation is not new. In the past, innovation has often become normalized and widespread as soon as people could optimize the technology.
Necessity has often forced the transformation of paradigms and pushed development. Before COVID-19, the concept of digital mass communication for work and school had already been in practice. From 2013 to 2015, cities like Beijing, on red alert for air pollution, were forced to transform the way they taught, adapting then existing online platforms into new, innovative methods of digital teaching and communication similar to those used throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was only recently, due to Covid, that Zoom or Teams meetings have now entered into the general public’s daily vocabulary and schedule. Covid-spurred technological innovation has perhaps even prompted ideas about digital platforms that facilitate greater communication and connectivity in everyday life that may help usher in greater acceptance for the Metaverse.
There are also a whole host of economic and social issues which demand consideration. For one, cryptocurrency would likely be the backbone of the Metaverse. Thus, transactions would increasingly migrate to cryptocurrency, and, depending on if cryptocurrency is the great equalizer that its proponents claim it is, or a tool of greater inequality, or both, could have unforeseen socioeconomic impacts. The novel that inspired the name “Metaverse” explored the idea of materialism, ownership, and one’s sense of identity in a digital world—issues that may be raised by the increase of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital goods, or intangible goods.
Furthermore, increasing digital addiction is linked to rising mental illness and poor social relationships. This may in turn lead to a more detached, escapist, lethargic, and stagnant society.
However, all of these rather ominous outlooks are not to say that marvelous technological and creative advancements may not arise from the Metaverse. Without a doubt, the Metaverse will likely transform the future generation and seems the natural next step in the digital era’s evolution. But, like Stephenson’s novel suggests, such a shift will require great change in the concepts of property, community, and identity.
Photo: Up My Tech
Works Cited
Canavesi, B., Chain, A., CJ Christine Janssen, & PF Patricia Franklin. (2022, January 5). What is the Metaverse: Where We Are and Where We're Headed. Association for Talent Development. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/atd-blog/what-is-the-metaverse-where-we-are-and-where-were-headed
Devanur, G. (2022, January 27). Metaverse: The New frontier? Forbes. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/01/26/metaverse-the-new-frontier/?sh=f8a5ef226719
Dionisio, J. D., III, W. G., & Gilbert, R. (2013). 3D Virtual Worlds and the Metaverse: Current Status and Future Possibilities. ACM Computing Surveys, 45(3), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1145/2480741.2480751
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Nocera, J. (2013, October 15). A world without privacy. The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/nocera-a-world-without-privacy.html