On June 20, The RAND Website published an article titled "The Metaverse: What It Is and Is Not," by Swattik Chowdhury and Timothy Mahler. Until an agreement is reached on the definition of a "metasurverse," the post notes, efforts to manage technological development and related public policy will be a mess at best. The lack of a coherent definition stifles much-needed discussion of technological developments, opportunities and risks.
The metaverse is expanding rapidly, but its meaning remains unclear. Until a definition of the metasverse is agreed, efforts to manage technological development and associated public policy will be a mess at best.
Even a brief review of literature and social media shows that the term "metasomes" has been invoked in a variety of contexts. In recent months, for example, news has emerged of people getting married there, investment companies buying real estate there, and managers holding meetings there.
A closer look at these news events reveals two important themes. First, different cases employ different combinations of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), NFT, and blockchain technologies, and all refer to the result as a "meta-universe." Second, much of the metaverse is described from the perspective of private companies.
For example, in Meta's statement, they define the meta-universe as "an embodied Internet that you experience, not just look at." Similarly, Microsoft describes its enterprise meta-universe as "... Made up of digital twins, analog environments and mixed reality."
Neil Stephenson coined the term "metaverse" in his 1992 science fiction novel avalanche. In the novel, the "meta-universe" refers to a virtual reality-based digital world in which real people use their digital avatars to escape into a virtual world to escape the grim reality of the real world. Recent attempts to define the meta-universe may resonate with the spirit of Avalanche, but they may succumb to organizational goals and motivations, as in the case of Meta and Microsoft.
Venture capitalists Matthew Bauer provides another popular definition, described yuan universe as "a massive and interoperable network of real-time rendering 3 d virtual world by a sense of individual existence, in fact, an infinite number of user synchronization and continue to experience, and these users have the continuity of data, for example, Identity, history, rights, purpose, correspondence and payment."
Despite the emergence of common themes, such as interoperability and interconnection, there is still a lack of standard, concise and coherent definitions. In fact, there may even be a lack of recognized traits or abilities. This essentially stifles technological developments, opportunities and risks that need to be discussed.
Apart from the lack of core meaning and identity, there seems to be no difference between guiding and supporting technologies. In this case, bootstrapping is the core technology that enables new products to exist. In contrast, enabling technologies allow new products to scale.
This adds to the confusion and further complicates necessary discussions and technical management. The meta-universe is often colloquially used as an "all-encompassing" term, referring to a mix of AR, VR, digital avatar, and blockchain-related technologies. The current public discussion around the metasexes lumps together supporting technologies, guiding technologies, and various derivative technologies, making it difficult to advance informed discussion around this topic.
The lack of clear definitions and distinctions about the technologies that underpinned the metasurverse has complicated discussions around the regulations and protocols needed to sustain it and mitigate its potential adverse effects. While there are certainly benefits, given the negative impact of social media, performance platforms and other emerging technologies, it may be prudent for legislators to start considering regulatory regimes that not only promote innovation, but also protect wider society from any potential negative impacts of the metasomes.
Participatory public discussion is essential to innovate and regulate any emerging technology. A clear and concise definition of the metasexes and related technologies may facilitate productive stakeholder discussion and the development of regulatory options. The meta-universe is still in its infancy, and a clear definition could go a long way toward building a decentralized meta-universe that everyone can safely participate in.