Articles of Interest: Metaverse

What is the Metaverse? And Should We Care?

Have you seen Ready Player One, Tron, Capirca, Altered Carbon, Avatar, Ghost in the Shell or any other sci-fi movies that explore the virtual world? Then you basically understand the key features of the metaverse. Two statements from Linda Tucci of TechTarget summarize both the potential and uncertainty about the metaverse, because it is:

• …a vision of…the next iteration of the internet: a single, shared, immersive, persistent, 3D virtual space where humans experience life in ways they could not in the physical world.
• …largely unbuilt, there is little agreement on how it will work.

It’s not just about fancier gaming experiences; the yet uncharted metaverse points to untold new ways of working, buying, interacting, learning and living. This puts many existing social contracts into question, such as basic human trust. For example, PwC points out that “When assets, transactions and identities simultaneously exist in physical and digital worlds that billions of people and organizations share, the old ways of building and sustaining trust may no longer apply.” And what about privacy, identify theft and myriad ways humans can do harm? What about brave new markets and classes of goods and services that didn’t exist before?

Should we care? Yes, we should care about this and understand it now. Even if just a little. Here are a few articles that further explain the metaverse.

What is the metaverse and how will it work?

https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-business-las-vegas-consumer-electronics-show-ddb35495abeb87e054a83ab0bed1ae7b

What is the metaverse? An explanation and in-depth guide

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/The-metaverse-explained-Everything-you-need-to-know#:~:text=The%20metaverse%20is%20a%20vision,not%20in%20the%20physical%20world.

Explainer: What is the “metaverse”?

https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-metaverse-2021-10-18/

Demystifying the metaverse – What business leaders need to know and do

https://www.pwc.com/us/en/tech-effect/emerging-tech/demystifying-the-metaverse.html

10 real-world use cases of the metaverse (plus examples)

https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/feature/Examples-of-the-metaverse-for-business-and-IT-leaders#:~:text=Metaverse%20platforms%20have%20the%20potential,provide%20information%20in%20new%20ways.

What is the metaverse—and what does it mean for business?

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/what-is-the-metaverse-and-what-does-it-mean-for-business