5 Misconceptions About the Metaverse

5 Misconceptions About the Metaverse

Author: Bernard Marr, Forbes; Compilation: Song Xue, Blocking

The metaverse is a huge online game—it’s virtual reality (VR)—it’s blockchain. In fact, there are many definitions of what the metaverse “is”—many people are trying to describe its definition.

The metaverse is confusing. In fact, Apple CEO Cook hinted that one of the reasons the metaverse will never catch on is that no one can really determine what it is. My view is that the metaverse is just an all-encompassing term used to describe the next stage of the internet’s development—whatever it is.

When it finally arrives (it will, unless we think the internet has reached its limit), we may not even call it the metaverse. In fact, I hope we don’t, because I’m not particularly fond of the word. It already has too many negative and confusing connotations, from overhyped speculative investment bubbles to the dystopian sci-fi universes it was first associated with.

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But I do believe that many of the technologies we are haphazardly piecing together today and calling the “metaverse” will play an important role in the next iteration of our digital lives—whatever we call it. Clarifying some common misconceptions can help us imagine what it might look like and prepare us for the day it arrives. So, here are the five most common misconceptions I encounter when talking to people about the metaverse.

The metaverse is just another term for VR

VR—the fully immersive virtual worlds we experience through headsets as if we were really there—has undoubtedly played a role in many of the ideas about how the internet will evolve. Horizon, the virtual world of Meta (formerly Facebook), is a good example of how the metaverse is interpreted. VR satisfies one of the key elements of how we will interact with the networked world in the future. It will enable us to be more present, have more presence, and participate in digital experiences in ways that are more like how we interact with the everyday real world.

But VR alone does not provide a networked experience—it is typically isolated, while virtual worlds can be shared experiences with others. It is not persistent either—when we close it, it disappears. Any changes we make to the environment we interact with may be reset, and others may have their own experiences, rather than building on anything we’ve created. Its virtual world typically exists in the form of “instances” rather than appearing and disappearing as an environment we can share.

As we approach what might be described as the metaverse to add connectivity and persistence to VR worlds. However, other interpretations of the metaverse may be entirely two-dimensional, experienced through screens or smartphones. Headsets may be bulky, cumbersome, and expensive, and while they are becoming increasingly common in the industry, they have yet to reach mainstream consumption. We will have to wait and see if they play a significant role in how we engage with tomorrow’s networked world, but over time, they may become smaller, lighter, cheaper, and therefore more practical.

The Metaverse and Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Similarly, this is the view of some metaverse project builders – those classified as “web3” and built on decentralized and shared ownership principles. However, many others believe that the large tech companies that operate the internet (and the governments that regulate them) are unlikely to give up control of it; but it may develop in the future.

Cryptocurrency is virtual currency managed by a distributed ledger called blockchain. Some people believe that they will become the default way to store value and pay for goods and services in the metaverse. In this regard, they do have advantages over traditional currency. For example, it allows for the sending and receiving of digital currency without the need for intermediaries such as banks or credit card companies. However, they also often use significant amounts of energy to power the required computations. And because the cryptocurrency field is largely unregulated, it is rife with scams, fraud, and dubious business models (the recent collapse of the major cryptocurrency exchange FTX being a prime example).

These issues may improve in the future as regulatory bodies better understand their operations and energy use decreases. However, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are not essential to the concept of the metaverse.

The Virtual World and the Real World are Separate

People generally think of the virtual world as a virtual space that is disconnected from the real world. But some of the most exciting and interesting applications are creating “digital twins” of our real world to help us better understand it and interact with it.

This can happen in many ways. Taking a very basic and simple example, an interconnected virtual world can have educational value – for instance, the Minecraft game has been used to create virtual environments that can teach children how everything from math to history works in the real world.

Taking it further, a “digital twin” is a simulation of a real-world system that can exist in a metaverse environment – in three-dimensional space through VR or on a two-dimensional screen. It can be anything from a car engine to a forest or a human body. Data is collected and input into the simulation system via sensors or other devices to make the simulated behavior as close to reality as possible, and we can change parameters to see how they would impact the system we are simulating in reality. The more advanced applications of this technology enable us to use augmented reality (AR) devices to view and interact with the real world, with simulated data projected onto the things we see in reality. For example, surgeons can receive information about what they see inside a person’s body in real-time during a surgical procedure. Or architects can experience what a building will look like and how it will work on-site before laying a single brick.

There is only one metaverse

“Metaverse” is more likely to become a catch-all term for many different virtual worlds, work environments, and simulations that will provide online experiences for us in the future. Just as the term “internet” actually encompasses a huge ecosystem of networks and systems, such as the World Wide Web, which provides web pages, email networks, and applications and services we use through our phones and smart devices.

It is currently unclear how interconnected these networks will be. Some, like the creators of Ready Player Me, are working on making avatars that can move between different metaverse platforms. Cryptocurrencies and blockchains have the potential to make it possible to transfer money and virtual goods in the form of NFTs between digital worlds, gaming environments, and collaborative work tools.

But to me, it seems unlikely that there will be a unified virtual space or platform. What we call the “metaverse” will be a one-stop destination where we play, shop, work, socialize, and relax. As we have seen in the current iteration of the internet, there are many platform providers (such as Facebook, Google, or Amazon) that claim to offer everything we need for our online lives. But in reality, they tend to be strong in some areas and weak in others. The next iteration may be similar, and we can jump between many platforms to pick the experiences we like.

The Metaverse will be a dystopia

In books and movies, virtual worlds are often portrayed with a dark tint. For example, in Ready Player One, this is a way to escape the pollution and over-industrialization problems on Earth. In The Matrix, this is one way that robots enslave humans.

Are we really trying to create a future where we spend more time on screens? Are we hurting children’s intellectual development? Will spending less time interacting face-to-face and building relationships with those around us lead to societal rifts? Does conducting more of our daily business and activities online mean handing more power over to multinational corporations that exist to profit from us?

These are all very valid and real concerns, and the concept of the Metaverse has the potential to enrich our lives in many ways, from building virtual communities that bring more people together, to improving our skills and abilities in engineering, science, and medicine.

Ultimately, the Metaverse – as we’re discussing it, really just referring to the digital aspect of reality – will evolve in the way that we let it. If we’re willing to give companies more power (or let robots rule us) in exchange for comfort and convenience, then that’s what we might get. But if we insist that it be implemented in a way that allows us to grow as a society while deepening our connections to one another and the “real” world around us, then it will benefit all of us.

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