“The Metaverse“
This is a term coined by the 1992 novel ‘Snow Crash’, which follows a delivery driver aptly named Hiro Protagonist (the last name is no typo!!). The novel contains a world centred on virtual reality, which contrasts the bleak dystopian reality of constant suffering. The metaverse serves as an escape from the real world, and a place of liberation from the corporate superpowers that control the world.
Such a place seems fascinating, though can it be real?
Well, recently the company ‘Facebook’ rebranded itself to ‘Meta’. Changes were brought not only towards its name, as the company also plans to roll out its next project, the metaverse. This scheme seems to have been initially planned quite some time ago, as Meta acquired Oculus for $2 billion[1] in 2014. That said, Facebook also acquired Instagram due to the app gaining popularity and being strong competition. Furthermore, they acquired WhatsApp as it was growing in members and targeted at having 1 billion users at the time. So perhaps the acquisition was not with the metaverse in mind, but alternative corporate intentions (such as minimising competition). Acquiring Oculus seemed unnecessary then. A company that wasn’t doing terribly but had no relevance to social media or any other of Meta’s markets. It seemed like an unnecessary move from the technology giant. Yet with the recent announcement it seems perfectly strategic.
As of the 28th of October, Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of then Facebook, now Meta) announced his new brand change and latest project, the Metaverse. The intention being a blurred cross between the real world and the online world. It is named the Horizon. In the Horizon, a user can explore and host meetings in virtual worlds. As time goes on, this will likely develop to other areas of the online world, such as shopping or even virtual music concerts.
These changes sound exciting and indicate our world getting closer to the ‘future’; what is historically the imagined world of flying cars and neon skyscrapers. The Metaverse also promises to bridge the gap between the efficiency of virtual meetings, and the practical ease of face-to-face communication. This will be done partially by the atmosphere of the meetings. Having meetings in the Horizon will make a user feel as though they really are in the room, establishing an atmosphere where creativity can flow through attendees – Zuckerberg is intent on reeling in the benefits of both online and real-world interactions under the same wing.
Although the Metaverse bears close similarity to Snow Crash, it also can be compared to Ready Player One. The 2018 movie was a hit in cinemas, due to its thrilling environment where people live far less in the real world, and instead wear headsets and live their day-to-day life almost entirely virtually. One big corporation owns most of the currency and power in this virtual world and ends up trying to take over this metaverse. The movie is set in an entirely dystopian setting, and likely is an image Meta hopes to distance itself from…
There are many problems with the Metaverse. Firstly, it doesn’t have any moderation. In the real world, there are the police and military. These government-controlled groups are (generally) trustworthy and bring little reason for us to have concern over the way in which they are run and maintained. This is not the same with the Metaverse. Whoever owns and controls the Metaverse can quite literally control the world – especially if people will live almost exclusively inside it, then the Metaverse could become their world. Those who run such a world are the closest to being a deity a human can conceivably become, meaning the company is entrusted with justice and fairness. It should be clear how easy corruption would be in this world. Just to cast some moral doubt, parallel to this, Meta is accused of knowingly allowing criminal acts…[2]
Some important questions arise regarding this future: how will Meta monetize their world? I doubt a banner can come up in your virtual world, preventing you from venturing further until you either buy the item presented or press ‘x’ in the top corner. And for any other type of ads? Say a message above the whiteboard in your meeting space. That would be intrusive and could even be a distraction for the meeting being hosted. Jane from accounting seeing a great deal on kitchen appliances could cause her to become distracted, despite her knowing that she doesn’t need to take such a great deal, she’ll still be left wondering whether she ought to swap out her scratched non-stick pan…
The introduction of Meta’s Metaverse could be argued as a method of gaslighting (or otherwise silencing) according to Frances Haugen[3], ex-Facebook employee-turned-whistle-blower. The introduction of the Metaverse seemed to come to light just after she raised ethical concerns over the company’s moral responsibilities and their apparent knowledge of misinformation, hate and violence. This roll-out appears to be a change of conversation, and to quote Frances Haugen referring to Meta’s behaviour, “if you don’t like the conversation, you try to change the conversation.”
Ten years from now we should hopefully know whether society is blooming or doomed. Will the Metaverse be safe? Will the metaverse be successful? Or might it be a billion-dollar flop.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Labs
[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/25/tech/facebook-instagram-app-store-ban-human-trafficking/index.html
[3] https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/11/09/frances-haugen-facebook-whistleblower-metaverse/6352916001/