Metaverse Myths - Part 1
Reality is not a prison, despite what the title says. Reality is to be freely created and experienced, whether it is physical or digital.
In my practice, I come across many skeptical or fearful reactions when it comes to the metaverse. And rightfully so, people are naturally fearful towards changes and the unknown. So I decided to collect and address the most common concerns about the upcoming era of virtual world creation and explain in (hopefully) understandable terms.
1. “Metaverse is a game or only for gamers.”
Virtual reality paradigms were firstly adopted by the gaming community, but the true metaverse realm is not a game and it is not only for gamers. The true metaverse contains every function that is found in the physical world. Gaming worlds served as early versions of interactive VR, however the activities in virtual gaming environments are based on pre-scripted (encoded) content, which restricts the selection of actions and movements. As we shift towards metaverses for general use, this scheme is still being used to build infrastructure, however such conditions do not qualify as a sufficient standard of infrastructure for an open interactive metaverse ecosystem that is expected to evolve at later stages.
2. “You need a VR headset to access the metaverse.”
Although VR headsets are a popular way of accessing metaverses, they are not the only way to do so. Headsets offer a wider stretch of the interface that enables more immersive experience, but users can access the metaverse via browser, mobile or desktop app, depending on what type of interface individual metaverse platforms offer.
3. “Metaverse is a company.”
Metaverse is the next evolutionary stage of the global internet network. The internet is a communication technology and cannot be owned and monopolized by one company. It can be utilized by companies to build products and services using the network.
4. “Metaverse is the new Facebook.”
Facebook is a communication platform based on Web2. Recently re-named as Meta, the company, too, increases the dimensionality of their platform from 2D interface to 3D interface, so it does adopt higher dimensionality in a form of a three-dimensional realm – a metaverse. Metaverse by Meta is not built on a semantic (distributed) network and remains as a centralized network infrastructure. Metaverse and Facebook are not synonymous. Facebook (Meta) is a company that adopts a metaverse, which is a 3D Internet network technology.
5. “Metaverse is a scam.”
Adoption of any new technology entails a long trial and error period. As we progress, many attempts to build 3D interactive worlds fail due to a complex and complicated process of figuring out how to build a livable ecosystem for its functioning. There are many failed projects and also many companies joining the wave for profit, but with limited understanding of the concept, which may create a dodgy impression of the metaverse industry. But in the background, there are thousands of gifted minds working to build reliable high-quality XR technologies that will eventually be widely adopted by the entire population. Even though the majority of current metaverse-building efforts probably won’t be successful, they are essential to the early trial-fail process.
6. “Metaverse is tied to crypto.”
The first version of the internet – Web1 – was built as a distributed network, which constituted an early version of blockchain (semantic web). After abandoning the semantic character of the web during the Web2 era and using centralized network infrastructure, with Web3 we are returning to decentralized and distributed networks. In the transitioning stage between Web2 and Web3, not every virtual world adopts blockchain infrastructure, but many do. Metaverses built entirely or partially on blockchain adopt token economies that facilitate distribution and exchange of value within the world and sometimes outside the world as well. Those metaverses use cryptographic technology and cryptocurrency to do so, but not all metaverses are built on blockchain.
7. “Metaverse will be the end of humanity, the AI will take over.”
AI is a tool. As any tool, it can be used in both benevolent and malevolent ways. AI is already greatly adopted in society and a part of our daily living, for most people unknowingly. AI is a part of the metaverse in many ways: digital humans powered by AI work as employees performing management tasks, AI is a building stone of interfaces, evaluating algorithms and optimizing processes etc. Many professionals (including me) use AI to improve productivity and outsource tasks. Whether AI takes over or not, is not only up to the evolution of AI, but foremost to the evolution of human consciousness. There is no one inevitable outcome. In one of my recent articles, I tackle diversification of intelligence in the context of AI in human society.
8. “Metaverse is addictive and causes people to detach from ‘reality’.”
It is important to adopt responsibility for one's own life experiences and ensure one’s own evolution in order to not have to substitute one reality with another. Metaverse is a realm of Extended Reality (XR), which brings extension of infrastructures. It complements (and extends) the physical reality. Just like any other infrastructure (transportation infrastructure, communication infrastructure, social infrastructure etc.) it allows transfer and exchange – of vehicles, people, services, information. This, in its essence, is neutral. It can allow transfer of realities based on information exchange that creates new experiences. Just like consumption of drugs, alcohol or adult entertainment, which also facilitate a ‘substitute’ or ‘complementary’ reality.
This is not to deny that uncomfortable realities do exist. This is an invitation to assume sovereignty over decision making and the intentions behind using different types of media (via their infrastructures). Will there be users who simply want to overcome the constraints of time and space to make their life in the physical reality easier? Yes. Will there be users that will rush to abandon physical reality due to its unbearability? Probably, as is the case for many that use VR entertainment or mentioned substances already.
9. “Metaverse is not real and it doesn’t belong to the reality we live in the ‘real world’.”
Metaverse is a world that is digitally created, consisting of information embedded in network infrastructure. It is thus an informational layer of reality that does not exist in the realm of matter. The access points to the metaverse, however, do consist of matter – computers, screens, VR devices.
Physicality is not the baseline for realness. The baseline of realness is functionality and experience – what is real is what we use and what we experience. Web2 is already widely adopted and complementary to the physical world, e.g. people use internet banking via banks' websites and transfer ‘non-physical’ resources that can be exchanged for physical goods. Digital e-commerce (online shopping) has already surpassed traditional brick-and-mortar shopping. There is no questioning that there is a transfer between the physical and non-physical (digital) reality. In regard to the metaverse, it is only the perceptual habit of viewing it through a different type of interface — 2D to 3D. It is really something whose basis has already been widely adopted. The further human society evolves, the more it discovers that reality does not equal physicality only. It can also rest on information exchange, which renders the informational reality ‘real’ and relevant to the physical realm.
10. “Metaverse is exclusive as not everyone will be able to adopt it.”
As with any technology, not everyone is able and willing to learn new habits, which is also influenced by age and agility. Once we work out the prototype of a functioning version of an operative metaverse ecosystem that improves everyone’s life, most people will be interested in adopting it. Imagine that a little over a decade ago, smartphones were only used by early adopters. And yet, you can hardly find anyone without one these days, even in developing countries. Would anyone go to a bank physically to write a check if they can make the transaction via an app in seconds? Few will, and that is alright, it’s just about a preference of how one wishes to invest their time.
The transition from Web2 to Web3 will resemble the transition from Web1 to Web2 in the 1990s. Many successful companies went out of business because they were not willing to adopt the ‘dotcom’ concept, join Web2 and keep up with the competitors. The metaverse will elevate the system of operations that will bring greater benefits in most areas of life. If anyone, however, prefers a different life concept and has a different set of priorities, they will simply remain in the status quo of their habits if they so prefer, which will still be relevant and an acceptable way.