METAVERSE: A Brave New World

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METAVERSE: A Brave New World

Published in Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/metaverse-brave-new-world-ravindra-dastikop/ 


INTRODUCTION 

Metaverse is the latest in the long list of technological developments. It has the potential to transform the very way we learn, work , earn, socialise with others, and live. Metaverse is a creative confluence of an assorted set of technologies developed over the last decades. Metaverse refers to a collection of shared online worlds. In Metaverse, physical augmented, and virtual reality converge. It enables people to work, socialise, shop, and train or get trained in new and innovative ways. 

Image Credit Wikipedia -   HyacintheLuynes

Social media giant Facebook recently announced to rebrand itself as Meta and the plan to build the “metaverse”. The move comes as a major landmark in the field of technological innovation and how we interact with it. The rebranding of the company shows how it desires to go beyond the social networking platform and enter into the world of extended reality.


Metaverse is a digital reality that combines aspects of social media. online gaming, augmented reality. virtual reality and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually. Augmented reality overlays visual elements, sound, and other sensory input onto real-world settings to enhance the user experience.  As the metaverse grows, it will create online spaces where user interactions are more multidimensional than currently supported by technology. Instead of just passively viewing digital content, users in the metaverse will be able to immerse themselves in a space where the digital and physical worlds converge


In simple terms, the metaverse is an online, 3D universe that combines various virtual spaces and allows users across the globe to meet, chat, work, and play games together. The metaverse will be driven by augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), with users controlling their own digital avatar(s).

ORIGIN

The word 'metaverse’ is a combination of two words – “meta” which is of Greek origin means “beyond” and “verse” comes from the word “universe”. The concept points towards a place that is beyond the known world or universe. It can be also termed as a virtual realm that seems to be real.

The idea is not that new as we are already familiar with video games, Oculus headsets and game consoles that immerse us into virtual worlds. However, the term was first used in the novel Snow Crash in the year 1992 authored by Neal Stephenson. The novel presents the metaverse as the ultimate evolution of the Internet. The book shows how virtual interactions in virtual reality may have an impact on the real world as well.

After the release of Snow Crash, several other books, films and television shows tried to portray this idea in their works. Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One (2011) and Steven Spielberg’s movie Ready Player One (2018) adapted from the same book are such prominent examples.


All these works try to convey one common idea – “metaverse” (being able to do everything in the virtual world that one can do in the real world)

The metaverse space is a combination of multiple elements, where users can "live" within a digital universe and interact with other users. Some of the elements involved in metaverse include blockchain technology, virtual reality, augmented reality and game theory. 

METAVERSE MEANING  

A Metaverse is a form of “extended reality”. This “extended reality” may be a combination of augmented, virtual and mixed reality.

  • Augmented Reality (AR):It enhances the real physical world experience by using digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology. It uses the existing real-world environment and adds virtual information to it for enhancing the experience. ARs can be accessed by using a smartphone and the users can control their presence in the real world.

  • Virtual Reality (VR) It enhances fictional worlds by using technology. It creates a virtual or artificial environment and immerses the users in it. It can be accessed by using a headset and the users are controlled by the system.

  • Mixed Reality: Introducing digital elements in the real world and merging the real world with the virtual one (Internet).

It will be a digital reality that will combine aspects of social media, online gaming, and other things allowing users to interact virtually for work, meetings or gaming through VR headsets, AR glasses and smartphones. It will be a 3-D virtual habitat where our digital avatars may operate, interact with others .


METAVERSE : PURPOSE 


Currently, people interact online by going to websites such as social media platforms or using messaging applications The idea of the metaverse is that it will create new online spaces in which people's interactions can be more multi-dimensional, where users are able to immerse themselves in digital content rather than simply viewing it.


In the time of the recent pandemic, it became essential to do everything remotely or without being physically present at a given place to do a particular work. The most obvious example of such discourse is the work from home culture. While video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams became commonplace and essential during the pandemic, they also came with problems like video conferencing fatigue. Metaverse may offer the best solution to this problem.


The accelerated interest in the metaverse can be seen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As more people started working and schooling remotely, there has been increased demand for ways to make online interaction more lifelike.


In short, the main purpose of the metaverse is to allow a greater overlapping of our digital and real lives for wealth creation, socialization, productivity and entertainment.

TECHNOLOGIES 

Metaverse is powered by the following eight technologies : (1) Extended Reality, (2) User Interactivity (Human-Computer Interaction), (3) Artificial Intelligence, (4) Block-chain, (5) Computer Vision, (6)Edge and (7) Cloud computing, and (8) Future Mobile Networks.


Metaverse is a decentralised open platform. It is based on public blockchain technology that encompasses “ Digital Assets” and “Digital Identities”. Metaverse is a general technology platform that can be utilized by enterprises and individuals.  


Blockchain technology, which allows for trust-less transactions and undebatable ownership of assets, is being seen as a major enabler in metaverse transactions. Metaverse allows users to buy, sell or upgrade their assets like homes, weapons or skins in virtual space.


The use of blockchain infrastructure in metaverse may facilitate tapping into the cryptocurrency economy and making virtual items exchangeable for real economic value.

By using engaging and immersive virtual world elements and network interactivity of social media, metaverses may become an essential element of blockchain games on the Internet. It may also help guarantee the safety and security of data and financial transactions taking place on metaverse.


The metaverse is a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually. Augmented reality overlays visual elements, sound, and other sensory input onto real-world settings to enhance the user experience. In contrast, virtual reality is entirely virtual and enhances fictional realities. 


OPPORTUNITIES 

Metaverse is fueling a virtual real estate boom. For instance, Decentraland, which is a metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain, allows users to buy virtual plots of land via MANA, an in-house cryptocurrency. Other platforms like Axie Infinity and Sandbox too allow users to buy virtual properties in cryptocurrencies. 


Metaverse is also becoming a lucrative industry in itself. According to the Greyscale report, the market opportunity for "bringing metaverse to life" may be worth over $1 trillion in annual revenue. Additionally, metaverse, the report argues, will compete with Web 2.0 companies like Facebook


Given that metaverse provides an immersive virtual experience akin to the real world, it is a natural "next frontier" for the gaming industry. "In addition to creating better ecosystems and making gaming more transparent, metaverse paired with the increased solutions of non-fungible tokens will help offer better engagement, virality, and monetization for games.  


Metaverse is set to become a major contributor to the world economy. PWC has predicted that the metaverse ecosystem will be worth over 1.5 trillion by 2030, impacting sectors like gaming, healthcare, ed-tech, and "Industry 4.0". "Play-to-earn applications are creating a new economy where service roles and monotonous roles can be replaced with new fun ways to earn money, noted Ryder, adding such an economy will grant more freedom to a low-wage worker. 


The metaverse has the potential to grow strongly. Artificial intelligence (AI) has also grown tremendously after 75 years of not seeing the light. “Cloud computing” was developed in the 1960s and came to the limelight only around  2006 on wards. The Metaverse will go the same way. 



Celebrities are already riding the metaverse bandwagon, with many creating their virtually 'avatars' and monetizing them as merchandise. "This is an opportunity for artists and influencers to better reach their fans and create new businesses,

USER PARTICIPATION

Metaverse enables the user to 

  • Play, work and stay connected with others virtually

  • Attend virtually attending work events, conferences, virtual vacations and entertainment events.

  • Allow an individual to buy or sell a virtual property as one does with physical property.

  • trade of cryptocurrencies.

  •  to create their virtual property.

The metaverse combines four categories: (1) AR(Augmented Reality), (2) Mirror World, (3) lifelogging (the act of recording one's daily life with a portable camera or digital device), and (4) Virtual World In the metaverse, you could use a VR headset to take a fully immersive meeting in a virtual room, with the digital avatars of other attendees sitting on the same 3D table. Then, you could log off work, and use the same headset to join your friends in a blockchain-based VR game where your group goes on an adventure to hunt for treasure.


CHALLENGES  

As the metaverse space expands, so will the amount of data it generates. This, many experts observe, will lead to questions about data reliability and safety. Blockchain technology, known for its data security and immutability, is being seen as a one-stop solution to the problem.  Some of the challenges posed by metaverse world are listed below 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

  • Building a metaverse will require a bulk of resources such as hardware, software and content. It will not be possible for a single company to build in and attract so many resources single-handedly.

  • Additionally, the infrastructure required is not that robust at this moment. The current form of the Internet may not be able to allow its functioning properly. It will need a broader and complex set of standards and protocols than the traditional Internet.

  • This will require large companies like Google, Amazon and others to come together and invest robustly to ensure cross-integration.


IDENTITY FRAUD 

  • Metaverse will be a virtual world almost. So, there is a huge possibility of forgery of facial features, footage and voice.

  • Furthermore, it will be difficult to identify in case of forgeries whether it is an individual or a bot trying to replicate one’s existence in the virtual world.

DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY 

  • For its functioning and providing the facilities metaverse promises to provide, it will collect a vast amount of user data for individual identification, advertisement, and tracking through multiple channels, like wearable devices, microphones, heart and respiratory monitors. If at any stage there is a security breach then that may lead to privacy issues for the users.

  • Since many financial transactions will take place in the virtual marketplaces, maintaining the security of such transactions might be a serious issue. It will be a mammoth task to convince users to feel safe and persuade them to carry on tasks related to currency and payments on metaverse.


REGULATORY AND LEGISLATIVE ISSUES 

  • Metaverse will engage users from various domains at various levels all over the world. Therefore, it will be a difficult task to regulate it.

  • Identification of jurisdictional and law-making authority will be a tough task further.

  • Questions regarding the jurisdictional authority over metaverse may fuel conflicts among various nations as they may look inward to enforce their legislation.

OWNERSHIP AND PROPERTY RIGHTS

  • Metaverse will involve the purchase and sale of various virtual assets as well as such items which will have real-world value. Examples include digital assets and tokens. The virtual world assets or items may also represent real-world objects such as art, music, videos and much more.

  • Granting, verifying and proving the ownership rights or possessions over such items will also be a huge challenge.

LOSS OF TOUCH WITH REALITY 

  • Since augmented, virtual and mixed reality will play an important role in the metaverse, they will require the users to immerse themselves in it. This immersion or suspension of consciousness unconsciously may distort the sense of time and space among individuals.

  • People may be so immersed in virtual reality that they may lose touch with the real world.

OTHER

  • These include issues regarding censorship, control of communications, tax reporting, the prevention of online radicalization, and many more.


METAVERSE FUTURE 

Metaverse is a concept full of possibilities. It entails both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, it will facilitate seamless and hassle-free interactions at various levels while on the other it will have to develop secure unique verification systems for varied transactions that may take place in it.  Even though we are at the beginning of this technological revolution, it will require awareness and responsible planning on the part of various stakeholders to ensure a safe and secure universe beyond this realm.