Attempt to connect…
The metaverse… “madness”, “excess”, “extravagance”. Mark Zuckerberg’s crazy project is derided. The man who made Facebook the first social network in the world would therefore have lost its mind? This is a fairly simple read. However, it is widely reported in the media. Despite this announced failure, the connected virtual world project has never been so advanced. Is the metaverse really a false marketing promise?
If it’s impossible, it’s probably going to happen
Let’s go back to a time when the metaverse was known only to science fiction fans. In 1997, nobody even dares to imagine thatInternet since operate on the scale we know today. Impossible, the experts are formal. And then, the Internet is above all a digital space infamous for terrorists, as we learn from this tasty archive from the France 2 newscast. Who could have imagined a high-definition video stream accessible from anywhere? Having access to information anywhere, anytime? And yet… Submarine cables, satellite networks, wifi! These infrastructures are now part of our lives without us even realizing it. They allow us to access what was considered impossible barely 20 years ago. This anecdote teaches us something: when a technology is deemed absurd, useless or utopian, it is likely to gain momentum.
In France in particular, it seems that the more technos are criticized, the more promising they are. You hear that AI will never work? It is probably that it will one day be important. Cryptocurrencies are a heinous scam? It is that they must have a part of legitimacy. The senators do not understand these mysterious “ block chains » ? They are looking for the bitcoin company headquarters to send them an email? You can be sure that their misunderstanding is a good sign. By applying this simple reverse rule, we have a better vision of what should count in the coming years. The less a technology is understood, the more potential it has. In this case, Meta’s virtual world project is one of them. For better or for worse.
The metaverse can feed on crises
There is, however, a legitimate question about the metaverse: how could this virtual infrastructure exist, even when humanity is experiencing a resource scarcity and an energy crisis ? You can find the answer by observing our society every day: it has never been so connected, even though climate concerns and environmental issues become central. Unfortunately, the metaverse is not at all incompatible with a chaotic world and devastated. In his visionary film Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg imagined what very much resembles the idea of a “metaverse”. The film chronicles the rise of virtual reality in a world plunged into chaos. And it is precisely for this reason that humans favor the oasis, a total digital universe: because it allowsescape from a cruel reality .
Of course, this cynical vision is not desirable, but it remains possible. On the other hand, the development of digital technology could bring its batch of innovationsand progress, as shown This advertisement of the company Meta. But let’s not be fooled, because the metaverse is above all a economic challenge . It is a response to our limited world, with finite resources. It is thus possible that the market economy moves there and begins a new cycle. In our material world, infinite growth is not sustainable. On the other hand, by moving this frantic search for growthin a virtual world, we channel the perverse effects of capitalism and its power to harm the environment. And in this new world, cryptocurrencies could be the digital vectors of this reset economy.
In the meantime, Mark Zuckerberg amuses us with avatars with questionable graphics. See you in 2030 to take stock.
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