Stepping into Metaverse #2
In my last article on the Metaverse, I wrote about the most significant factors and basic stuff about how Metaverse could change our lifestyle. Further, I would like to extend how the various parts of the value chain could bring change.
I’ve prepared a small section to explain how Meta fits into the same concept now that Facebook has rebranded as Meta and Mark Zuckerberg discussed his vision for the Metaverse at Facebook Connect 2021. They have a compelling argument to make that they are already a strong metaverse contender, not just a potential player.
1- Experience: In social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, are an essential component of how people interact with the Metaverse, and these activities will gradually converge with real-time activity (Video live streaming is the living example of the same). A sense of “self” within the Metaverse is a fundamental aspect of the Metaverse, and I would argue that it is crucial to the concept of these applications. When engaged in AR/VR, Facebook refers to this self as an “embodied” experience.
2- Creator Economy: There are a few instances, but Facebook Horizon is the company’s most comprehensive effort to a content creation platform.
3- Discovery: Because Facebook’s business model is mainly based on advertising, ad networks will continue to be a fundamental way for consumers to discover content in the Metaverse.
Many people feel the Metaverse is unavoidable but is it?
To become a reality, a universal metaverse would require decades of infrastructure construction and billions of money. It will be necessary to establish new generating, trading, and paying for digital goods and services. VR glasses are now too bulky and impractical and would need to be condensed into much smaller spectacles. Threats to privacy, ownership rights, and environmental harm would have to be addressed due to the vast processing power required to support alternate digital worlds.
What may employees hope to gain from the Metaverse?
· Workers benefit from unrivaled convenience. There would be no need to travel since all encounters will be replaced by digital counterparts as effective.
· Management monitoring might become a source of concern. Higher-ups may have access to almost anything a worker does, depending on the restrictions in place. Workers should be informed that intrusion into their privacy will need to be controlled, and the rules are still in the early stages.
· There are new job openings. Jobs that formerly needed in-person connections will become virtual choices, resulting in a perfect increase in freelancing and remote labor.
Beyond the boundaries of the one-world order
The Metaverse’s fundamental issues revolve around the type of worldview it would reflect. We may consider ourselves as passengers within a single reality that serves as a container for our whole lives from a single perspective. Most readers would recognize this viewpoint, and it also describes what you see on Facebook: a “platform” that exists independently of any of its members. Another worldview, which sociologists believe is prevalent in Indigenous cultures, holds that each of us creates the reality we live in via our actions.
It also indicates what Meta/Facebook isn’t. They aren’t very decentralized. However, the recent news about Oculus discarding proprietary APIs in favor of OpenXR is intriguing. Facebook has also taken some preliminary steps into crypto wallets and blockchain currencies; however, it’s unclear how decentralized these will be.
The Facebook Connect 2021 keynote mentioned NFTs and blockchain, implying that the company expects to give creators a way to make their assets available to off-platform apps. It’s unclear whether the experiences and worlds created in environments like Horizon will be portable or if they’ll be exclusive to the Meta ecosystem.
Humans and Robots Can Collaborate Using the Metaverse (NVIDIAs project)
These virtual worlds are perfect for robot training. NVIDIAs Omniverse can simulate and control particles, materials, and even machines perfectly down to their springs and wires. A core capability of robotics is the ability to simulate the natural world in a virtual environment. It allows users to create a virtual reality that perfectly seems as real in which robots can train using AI brains that can learn from their real or virtual surroundings. Roboticists can transfer these robots’ thoughts onto an NVIDIA Jetson and attach it to an actual robot once their minds have been trained in the Omniverse.
From the Past to the Future
So, where do we go from here? According to my, humans have manipulated how we view the world for thousands of years. We’ve used music, art, and literature for millennia to hack our senses and create virtual universes. Further, add interactivity and the capacity to collaborate have drastically increased. Better screens, head-mounted displays such as the Oculus Quest, and mixed-reality devices like Microsoft’s Hololens are all steps toward greater immersion.
All of these parts will change over time. The most crucial one, though, is already in place: a high-fidelity simulation of our virtual world to power the display. NVIDIA Omniverse is what it’s called. To paraphrase science-fiction legend William Gibson, “the future is already here; it’s just not fairly distributed.” The Metaverse is the technique through which we can more evenly share those experiences. The Metaverse, which has been brought to life by NVIDIA Omniverse, promises to weave humans, AI, and robots together in exciting new realms.
Back to the Metaverse
Many components make up the Metaverse, from 3D engines to creator tools to live services that allow immersive games and experiences. Ecommerce provides a glimpse into Metaverse’s business models. Like Amazon and the Epic Game Store may handle large-scale distribution, Metaverse producers will pay these platforms for both tools and audiences. Games, social “third places,” augmented reality, and other activities will be part of the Metaverse. This implies a market full of unique content and a platform ecosystem with both closed and open architectures. It’s a winner-takes-all market where one walled garden absorbs most of the money. Many of the world’s major technological corporations are investing in creating the Metaverse because it appears to be a promising concept.
Final Words
The issue we have with the definitions we’ve seen is that they emphasize “immersiveness.” However, impressiveness isn’t a new concept. A good book will immerse you in its world, and a well-told story is fascinating. The idea of a “communal online virtual experience” isn’t new either. People were involved in collaborative virtual experiences dubbed MUDs (or multi-user dungeons) in the late 1980s, and these things have been there for nearly three decades.
So, aside from improved resolution and faster reaction and rendering times, is there anything else that could be different this time? Actual decentralized ownership, yes. Thanks to blockchain, Neal Stephenson’s parallel reality can now have this one critical attribute that wasn’t previously feasible. (And it’s a property that today’s tech behemoths will struggle to fully embrace since it goes against the core fabric of their worldview.) So, do we want this to be executed by many Silicon Valley tech-bros who don’t seem to comprehend that Snow Crash is a dystopia?
