Metaverse vs Meatspace

Good morning.

I am struggling to reconcile my investment thesis in the cryptocurrency/ metaverse/ web 3 industry with the privacy/ safety/ ethical challenges that artificial intelligence/ machine learning/ robotics exposes users to.

This is part of the reason I am very much interested in learning and probing down this path as it is not one included in public discourse and corporate mainstream media as many are getting influenced, coerced and immersed into a new world where many are not prepared for the outcomes or repercussions of their digital/ virtual activities. In this new world that some refer to as the metaverse, there will be new rules of engagement and they will gradually define real life social interactions. They might be for the better or for worse, but one that is sure is that we will be impacted by the digital world.

As we spend more and more time online and in digital spaces, and we seem not to be slowing down. Especially with the hype around NFTs, gaming and the metaverse. We seem to be going full throttle into it damning the consequences but they are always the negative side to everything. That is something many do not want to address and I am drawn to point it.

I start with headlines and stories to back up my point;

• Apple is going ahead with a plan to turn customers iPhones into digital identification cards with tax payers footing the bill. According to Apple, “This feature, when combined with Apple’s biometric security measures like Face ID, could cut down on fraud.” This is ignoring the fact that we are ceding power from government over to a private corporations (in the case of Apple a $2.46 trillion corporation) to be in charge of citizens identities, notwithstanding the privacy questions such as surveillance that come up.

• At the same time, the cyber surveillance industry seems to be booming with less accountability for their roles and actions in targeted hacking and forensic tools. These are tools and technologies are used by bad international actors, and many are sold to governments who in turn use it to crack down on their fellow citizens as it was used during China’s crackdown in Hong Kong and used by the paramilitary Bangladeshi “death squad.” 

• There are other dangers that come with an increased digital world as the proliferation of hackers tend to be more prevalent. Even the FBI could not escape the hackers claws as of recent, they were compromised and fake emails were sent from the FBI’s online portal.

Even as this metaverse/ digital phenomenon seems attractive and innovative. It is not so new as it has been predicted by George Orwell in his 1984 masterpiece, in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and revealed to us in Wachowskis’ iconic film, The Matrix, where we were introduced to a futuristic world in which humans exist in a computer-simulated non-reality powered by authoritarian machines.

Some would even go further to claim that internet activities and thus the metaverse is making us stupider as we are sacrificing our genuine selves to be plugged in 24/7. Referencing the playwright Richard Foreman, as he bemoans eloquently in “The Pancake people”;

“But today, I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information overload and the technology of the “instantly available.” A new self that needs to contain less and less of an inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance—as we all become "pancake people"—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”

I know it all seems very dystopian, nevertheless thought provoking that should make one reassess the relationship with our devices.

Lastly, I leave you with trends that are meant to evolve in the 2030’s with the Internet of Things (IoT) transforming to the Internet of Senses (IoS);

• Trend 1: The brain is the user interface; Fifty-nine percent of consumers believe that we will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination 

• Trend 2: Sounds like me; Using a microphone, 67 percent believe they will be able to take on anyone's voice realistically enough to fool even family members 

• Trend 3: Any flavor you want; Forty-five percent predict a device for your mouth that digitally enhances anything you eat, so that any food can taste like your favorite treat

• Trend 4: Digital aroma; Around six in ten expect to be able to digitally visit forests or the countryside, including experiencing all the natural smells of those places 

• Trend 5: Total touch; More than six in ten expect smartphones with screens that convey the shape and texture of the digital icons and buttons they are pressing  

• Trend 6: Merged reality; VR game worlds are predicted by seven in ten to be indistinguishable from physical reality by 2030 

• Trend 7: Verified as real; “Fake news” could be finished -- half of respondents say news reporting services that feature extensive fact checks (from government sources) will be popular by 2030 

• Trend 8: Post-privacy consumers; Half of respondents are post-privacy consumers -- meaning they expect privacy issues to be fully resolved so they can safely reap the benefits of a data-driven world 

• Trend 9: Connected sustainability; Internet of senses-based services will make society more environmentally sustainable, according to six in ten 

• Trend 10: Sensational services; Forty-five percent of consumers anticipate digital malls allowing them to use all five senses when shopping 

I am quite skeptical of all this to be honest and I am still torn between support for the metaverse/cryptocurrencies vs the meatspace (real life physical interactions). I guess a balance of the two will be more favorable but I am inclined to believe that only the privileged will be afforded the luxury of real life interactions in the future. As we can point out numerous examples of “rules for thee but not for me” instances ramp up in recent times.

See you tomorrow!

- Ope