A Case for the Metaverse
Tags: Society, Technology, Metaverse, Cryptocurrency, Meta

Ever since Facebook announced Meta, talk about the metaverse has been limited to two topics:

How to invest in it. Why it sucks

Both ways of thinking have major problems. In this article, I am going to touch on why both of these thinking patterns are wrong, and why the metaverse could be extremely beneficial (if we approach it correctly).

Note 1: Since there are many definitions, this article will be using Oxford’s definition of metaverse: “a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.” AR should be included in this definition. Even though there are many other aspects to the metaverse/web3.

Note 2: Unless otherwise stated, this article is not talking about Facebook/Meta’s metaverse. Instead, it will be about the concept in general.

Note 3: Not much is known about how the metaverse will turn out, or even what it will be. Because of this, I will use indefinite words like “could” and “may” quite often.

Build it, Don’t Buy it.

Most articles about the Metaverse on Medium (and other sites) are about which companies (Meta, Epic Games) or cryptocurrencies (Decentraland) are the most likely to make you money if you buy their stocks or tokens. This is very disturbing. A world where most people either think the metaverse is The Matrix or their next get-rich-quick strategy is bound to create a lot of problems and polarization.

This dynamic will likely cause the metaverse to repeat the same problems that the current iteration of the internet has. That is, making money at any cost and without thought to how a platform can negatively impact how society functions. We risk creating yet another, bigger, Facebook-like dilemma. Everyone knows Facebook is, in part, causing harmful societal shifts like skyrocketing suicide rates, political polarization, and misinformation. Even with this knowledge, very few people feel like they can delete Facebook or any of its counterparts like Insta or TikTok without missing out.

Right now, this type of FOMO, at least financially speaking, is the main thing driving people to metaverse projects.

Imagine what we could build if instead of saying, “I want money regardless of the consequences” we said, “Let’s build something really cool and that fixes problems”. The metaverse is inevitable and there is no hard line between it and the internet. The internet will, beyond any doubt, slowly morph into the metaverse. How it works and how it happens can either be up to us or, if we let it, up to Facebook/Meta’s dream dystopian virtual technocracy.

No, it Doesn’t Suck (or at least it won’t)

Well, actually right now it sort of does suck. But claiming it is going to stay that way is highly ignorant of how technology develops.

For example, let’s look at a picture of one of the first video games: Pong

And now, something a bit higher end:

Let's hope the metaverse isn’t anything like The Matrix though…

The point is virtual and augmented reality are relatively brand new. As an AR developer, I can attest to the fact that this tech, that will underpin the metaverse, is innovating much faster than most people realize.

So, does it suck? Yeah, right now most metaverse projects look underdeveloped. Can it transform as much as video games did between Pong and GTA? Yes. And that gives it the power to transform the world.

Problems with Technology:

Every new technology that has ever been invented has had two things:

Made up Problems:

All technology has had opponents to it that out of fear make up reasons why the technology is bad. When lightbulbs were first invented there were many people who claimed they caused blindness. When trains were first invented many claimed they caused back problems.

These problems seemed true at the time and only after years of the technology existing did they fade from public thought. Often focusing on wild ill-thought consequences of technology keep us from clearly thinking about what problems it will actually cause. And this just creates more problems because our focus is on the wrong problems, false fear-driven problems.

Real Problems:

New technology always causes real problems. Often these problems were unseen at the beginning. Trains did not cause back problems; they cause something much worse: climate change. I suspect the metaverse will have similar unexpected issues if we are not meticulous at thoughtfully building it into something that complements our lives and doesn’t replace them.

How the Metaverse Could Help.

The metaverse could fix (or at least not worsen) some of the problems people claim it will create. Namely these:

The inability for people to escape from technology and screens.

The metaverse could actually do the opposite. Here is a scenario of the world as it is right now:

You drive to the restaurant using a car with a GPS screen telling you where to go as you skip through songs on your phone (screen) You look out the window and see a giant screen advertising Horizon Worlds and soon arrive at your favourite restaurant to have a meal with your favourite people. You sit down to eat and talk with your friends. You order on a tablet that sits on the table. After a few minutes, half of your friends are watching NFL on one of like 20 TVs in the restaurant. The other half are casually scrolling through TikTok. Your phone buzzes to tell you that Karen posted saying that having a vaccine card makes you the equivalent of a Nazi and you just can’t let that slide.

Sound familiar? If not, tell me your secret. The fact is whether you like it or not nearly every situation you are in has screens trying to grab your attention. A metaverse would change this drastically. By simply taking off your glasses every augmented “screen” you see would disappear and the two realities are now completely distinguishable and being focused on the “real” world has never been easier. In a sense, reality is now augmented less than it was before metaverse.

Increased addiction/reliance on technology and social disconnect.

Honestly, it would be hard for people to spend any more time on screens when we already spend an average of over 7 hours on screens per day. Increasingly, our jobs are online, and most people spend a significant amount of time with people not actually “with” people. So, what difference will the metaverse make?

It could bring back face-to-face communication. Instead of texting endlessly with people thousands of miles away, you could talk in a sort of 3D facetime where it looks like the person talking to you is in the same room as you. It could bring back natural conversations. And this does not mean it is replacing real face to face conversations, it is replacing other less natural forms of digital communication. Can you really tell me texting is better? Think bigger, better version of Netflix Watch Party. Instead of endlessly sitting at your home office by yourself on your screen, you will be able to work with people as if they are there with you. And this applies to everything whether it is work, or binge-watching your favourite shows. While this may be bad in many ways it is better than the trajectory we are currently on where people are isolated in both the physical and digital world. This solves half the problem. Let’s work together to solve the other half. Remember, in-person work will always be necessary. The metaverse won’t replace physical in-person work as much as it will replace unhealthy existing remote work environments.

People will be able to make themselves appear however they like and get rid of any imperfections, creating unrealistic expectations of reality.

This is already true. People project their fake lives on social media anyway. On social media, users project a fake life and personality. The ability to fake good behaviour on social media may lessen with a metaverse. The reason for this is that many things will go from being pre-recorded to being live. You can’t re-record things that are live.

People who opt to not use the metaverse will have a hard time making money in this new economy.

Eventually, this will most likely happen. Not because of anything specific to the metaverse. This is true of nearly ALL technology. Imagine trying to make a living without using a: phone, car, lightbulb… Lightbulbs are a good thing and yet without them, it is difficult to participate in all modernized economies.

The Good Stuff

As we have seen the metaverse will most likely have the same problems the internet has (just to varying degrees). Many things may improve, and some things will worsen. Now let’s talk about how the metaverse could make things better.

Limitless Space.

Let’s say you are a non-profit looking to host a fundraiser. You want to invite 400 people. However, there is not enough space in the venue. In the metaverse, you could invite 100 people to the physical fundraiser and invite literally everyone to a photo-realistic 3D live-streamed version of it.

Accessible Technology.

Knowledge is power. Nowadays the main way to gain knowledge is through the internet. The current environment where the richer you are the more access you have to better technology must stop. To be on top of the digital economy and learning you need a: blazing fast PC, TV, mouse and phone. Slowly the metaverse could make it so that all you need is a set of AR glasses. Financially strapped people won’t need to worry about garnering an endless array of devices.

Censorship.

This is a double-edged sword. The metaverse could eliminate many forms of censorship. In many cases, this is a great thing. The problem becomes that it also becomes hard to censor illegal content. This may not be any worse than it is now. It is already nearly impossible to censor content on the internet as a whole.

And a lot more but this article is too long…

Conclusion:

Let’s not let companies like Facebook (sorry) Meta, who have over and over again displayed their irresponsible money-at-any-cost business model, create the technology we will depend on in the future. Instead, a collective effort among everyone building the metaverse in a thoughtful and at times self-sacrificial way (not all about money) is necessary. This transforms the metaverse from a threat to a marvelous opportunity to build a better world. Oh, and look we have the tools to build it ourselves: cryptocurrencies!