20 June 2022
Are you ready for "The Metaverse"
A recent headline by the New York post read – “Experts predict living in the metaverse by 2030”. Another headline from the Gartner group read – “Gartner Predicts 25% of People Will Spend At Least One Hour Per Day in the Metaverse by 2026”
This had me intrigued.
What is this metaverse and how will I find myself living in it. I set off to find out more about the Metaverse.
Gartner have defined “The Metaverse” as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences, as well as device independent and accessible through any type of device, from tablets to head-mounted displays.” - https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/what-is-a-metaverse
In reality we are looking at a virtual space, with some of the following as part of our everyday:
- Digital currencies (crypto currency)
- Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
- Interaction with 3D Avatars
- Our very own Artificial Intelligence (AI) twins
Some aspects of the Metaverse that are already in action, such as:
- Virtual reality games where players interact with each other as avatars
- Theatre productions and Musical events hosted in virtual spaces
- Virtual sporting events
I still wanted to know more, so while writing this article I explored ReadyPlayerMe to create an avatar for my life in the Metaverse. The image for this blog is what I created. I haven’t customised it. It seemed a fair likeness to me.
However, it got me thinking about the size of the database used to generate the avatar and if there were any considerations that we need to take into account when looking at a world population? What do you think?
There are also lots of other questions starting to emerge regarding the Metaverse:
- Who owns the intellectual property rights for all of the items that we are creating freely in the Metaverse?
- The levels of energy consumption needed to power the metaverse, especially when thinking about Digital currencies
- The overall impact upon the planet
- The overall impact upon mental health
There isn’t one quick answer to any of the above, it is all still up for debate. It is important to note that there won’t be just one metaverse, but that there will be many metaverses. Think of it this way. The internet as we currently know it, will be and is disappearing. Our current internet is web2.0, the newly emerging version is web3.0 that will be supporting the Metaverse – below, is my attempt at a summary of the differences.
|
Web 1.0 |
Web 2.0 |
Web 3.0 |
|
Slow Email driven |
The Internet Centralised platform Apps to share Centralised companies |
The Metaverse Decentralisation at its core Digital assets for individuals and companies Digitalisation of everything Democratisation of access Non Fungible Tokens Great collaboration for individuals and businesses |
Could you add a few more items?
With my education hat on, I found this BBC Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6VsxcVpBVY which sums up the current state of the Metaverse and can be used to spark classroom discussion. My further questions for you are:
- What will education look like in The Metaverse? For pupils and teachers
- Do some subjects lend themselves better to the Metaverse?
- What legislation will be needed in the Metaverse?
- Are there any security implications in the Metaverse?
For further background reading - this Gartner article has an infographic which can be used to sum up the Metaverse when teaching.
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Discussion
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Safety is always a top priority! Maybe there is a need for verification of all online users? I am thinking here about the Online Safety bill.
Surely we should be developing online communities where the idea is collaboration and cooperation and not exploitation.
Love the idea of the Metaverse but also see potential issues with regards to online safety for children? What are your thoughts on this? However, definitely going to make my avatar now that I’ve read this!
Well that is thought provoking! Maybe some guidelines will be needed on “appropriate avatars” and avatars that contribute to equality? Also need discussions around what is going on in the background of avatar design. I think we should pose this question to our learners and get them to debate?
Good points. It is interesting to see how things will develop. We still have digital currencies to add into everyday transactions. I think this will change things up quite a bit.
Cool avatar. Definitely #Metaverse ready
I’m honoured to be a digital twin of @mwimpennys but with darker hair: Check out my Ready Player Me avatar!
I had parents evening online last night. I really like that appointments have a hard cut off after 5 minutes so that it doesn’t overrun. Most parents like the convenience of being able to join in from work or home but some miss the occasional conversations you could have if you were physically in the same space. I did wonder if parents evenings could ever work in the metaverse. I hope not… I’m not keen on the idea of being accosted by hostile looking (or scantily clad) avatars to discuss their child’s academic progress! I do worry sometimes that avatars can reinforce gender stereotypes in an unhelpful way.
@pddring keep that idea in mind for our chat on Monday. My thought is in the Metaverse will we all look like @mwimpennys
@mwimpennys - Brilliant… I went with the defaults. I can assure you this is pretty accurate
My favourite definition of the Metaverse is "When the idea of the ‘digital self’ becomes more important than the physical self.
I think by this definition, we are already living in some version of a metaverse. Every important life moment is now shared via Instagram/Facebook/Twitter (did it even happen if you didn’t make a post about it), people are now working from home, completely digital. People meet their partners through dating apps. Meetings are now conducted through Zoom/Teams etc. The list goes on…
Obviously we still have developments to come and maybe some day it will be fully virtual reality, but I think there is a case to say that the Metaverse is more than that and has already started.
If only I look this good in real life! Check out my Ready Player Me avatar!
@stuartball- I’m going to make mine this weekend!
This is wonderful @Beverly_Clarke . Come on @pddring and @mwimpennys and anyone else reading this where are your Avatars. Post here
Thanks for this really interesting blog post.
Thanks Beverly - interesting article. I hadn’t come across Ready Player Me before for 3d avatar creation. I like that you can download the avatar and import it into Blender or Unity to put it in your own animations or games.