The Tangle and the Weave, in the world of the Tangled, can be likened to a future meta verse. Facebook's recent change of name to META has started serious discussions on the metaverse. But what is it really?
Many heard the term for the first time when Mark Zuckerberg hijacked META as a replacement for name of the Facebook umbrella company. In fact, the concept of the metaverse has been around for a few decades.
The name for an immersive, 3D world, a successor to the current internet, was first coined in a novel by sci-fi author and futurist Neal Stephenson back in 1992. The metaverse was Stephenson’s vision of how the internet would evolve into a collective virtual space populated by user-controlled avatars, accessed by both static and portable terminals including goggles. Stephenson’s ideas of what the metaverse might look like have influenced 3D software and game developers, including Xbox live.
The name Metaverse is a portmanteau of ‘meta’ (meaning ‘beyond’) and universe. It is entirely possible that the internet will eventually look as envisaged; a digital space that people users visit to do everything that they currently already do on the internet; meeting, socialising, sharing, shopping, gaming, learning, entertaining.
The metaverse is no longer science fiction. Its early incarnation emerged in a platform called Second Life in 2003. Ahead of its time, Second Life offered an array of activities for three-dimensional avatars such as listening to live talks, dancing, and shopping. Sadly the internet of the time, pre-3G, was too slow and glitchy, and most users left to join Facebook. Now, there is a limited form through virtual reality games, and chat platforms like VRChat.
Access to these spaces, such as Neal Stephenson envisaged, is also no longer particularly futuristic. We can already access the internet through personal mobile devices, and glasses and goggles are available for virtual and augmented reality technology. 5G technology, sophisticated sensors and more advanced movement tracking mean we are more ready to head into the metaverse than back in 2003.
Some key characteristics of the metaverse, as identified by American venture capitalist Mathew Ball, are:
1. Spanning the virtual and real worlds
2. Contains a fully-fledged economy
3. Requires interoperability; avatars and goods can move from one place to another in the metaverse
There should be a fourth key characteristic added to this: decentralisation. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg did suggest a decentralised metaverse should not be run by any one entity. Where that leaves Zuckerberg’s set of companies we don’t know, but if Facebook’s parent and its large coffers are supporting the development of the new internet, then at least it will get a kick start.
There are still technological hurdles to metaverse expansion and adoption. The metaverse will be dependent on VR and AR technology which is still in relative infancy and with a high cost of setup. The need for high quality 3D graphics, lack of mobility, and low image quality on lighter (and cheaper) wireless headsets are current limitations. Further, the power needed for lengthy virtual reality is high with even high-end computers unable to power VR machines consuming a larger amount of power and bytes. Large scale, affordable and portable equipment cannot yet be produced at a reasonable price.
Standards, interfaces and protocols are also still in development, to support greater scale and interoperability, although these are likely to arise in a more piece-meal fashion as is usual in an industry driven by technological advancement. There is also concern about how a metaverse could further encourage internet addiction and be used as an escape from reality, with repercussions on mental health.
Socially, we’ve never been more ready for the metaverse. The pandemic gave virtual work and entertainment a push forward; we are now comfortable with virtual meetings, gallery openings, concerts, and conferences.
The hype of Meta and Mark Zuckerberg’s sudden announcement detracts from the work already done in this area by those who came before; Second Life, World of Warcraft, and all the company’s developing VR and AR technology. However, the sort of funding levels that Facebook (sorry, Meta) can leverage will be game changing. Our concern will be that Facebook runs with its promises of decentralisation. The (augmented) reality, however, is that control over social communication and data is a Facebook basic, and we can’t see Zuckerberg not being able to monetise the metaverse as soon as possible.
This article is an excerpt of a blog post written by the author for dWeb Guide. www.dwebguide.com.