Define the wordmetaverse quickly.
The term exploded in popularity after Facebook changed its name to Meta in October of 2011. Thousands of companies have invested in the development of the metaverse. The metaverse could be a $13 trillion market by the year 2030.
The metaverse has so much potential from climate change to global connection. Virtual world gatherings have lower carbon footprints than in- person gatherings. There are virtual spaces where people can gather. Virtual entrepreneurship can be used by disabled people. The metaverse served as a place where people could be alone during the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic.
There are a lot of dangers from exploitation to discrimination.
It's difficult to discuss benefits and threats because of confusion. I am a professor of anthropology and have been researching the metaverse for almost two decades. The metaverse is going in a different direction. Norms and standards will likely be in place for a long time. People can't debate these standards without common conceptual ground.
People can't differentiate innovation from hype. Meta sets the terms for their own commercial interests. The former deputy prime minister of the U.K. tried to control the narrative with an essay in May 2022.
Virtual worlds are always included in metaverse definitions, even though there is a laundry list of technologies and principles. There are thousands of virtual worlds, some of which are gaming oriented and others more open ended.
Beyond virtual worlds, the list of metaverse technologies includes nonplayer characters and bots, virtual reality, and more. Interoperability is the idea that identities, friendship networks and digital items should be able to move between virtual worlds.
Humans don't like to be categorized by laundry lists. Research shows that most categories areradial with a central prototype. A bird could be defined in terms of a laundry list of characteristics. The prototypical bird for the US is a sparrow. Birds are further away from this prototype. There are also penguins and Flamingos. All of the birds are from the prototype. penguins might be placed closer to the center by someone living in the area.
Human creations are usually categorized. Few people would draw a chair.
The most important step in defining the metaverse is to know it is a radial category. For the metaverse, virtual worlds are a good fit. Some elements of the laundry list won't show up in all cases. What is involved will be specific to the community. It will be different in Alaska than it is in Ethiopia.
One of the most devious rhetorical moves currently underway is to assert that some parts of the metaverse are prototypical. The metaverse is defined by many pundits as a result of the use of Cryptocurrencies. Many virtual worlds use other methods for confirmation of ownership. The U.S. dollar is a national currency used by many.
Another example of a rhetorical move is the use of an image of a building with a foundation and two floors to argue that Interoperability will be part of the building.
Without a significant degree of interoperability baked into each floor, the metaverse will become fragmented. Fragmentation is desirable. I don't want to have the same identity in online games or virtual worlds.
The question of why Meta is fixated on interoperability is raised. Meta's profit model is based on tracking users across the metaverse to target advertising and possibly sell digital goods with maximum effectiveness. The claim about interoperability isn't a statement of fact if you consider "metaverse" as a radial category Meta's prototypical capitalism is an attempt to make it prototypical. No, it doesn't have to be.
The example shows how defining the metaverse isn't a meaningless exercise. Design, policy, profit, community and the digital future will be shaped by the conceptual work.
Time is on our side because many metaverse technologies won't be fully realized for a decade or more When definitions of digital technology are locked in, it becomes difficult to break them. Digital common sense takes hold of them.
Time isn't on our side when it comes to the definitions that will be the true foundation of the metaverse. I think it's time to debate how the metaverse will be defined because it's likely to become a digital reality.
Tom Boellstorff is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Irvine.
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