The Metaverse - An Augmented Reality
As the notion of a “metaverse” becomes a popular and controversial talking point at VC and corporate water coolers alike, we enter into a future that very well may change how culture manifests itself in our daily lives. Yet, the metaverse is a poorly defined and oft misunderstood concept.
Early people explained the world through myth, using metaphor and the shared experience to teach those things that can only be learned through imagined experience. When we are immersed in a story, we are transported to a different dimension - Our mind’s eye envisions that other place, and we exist there even if only for a moment. Those experiences often change our worldview, providing insights that then reshape the reality to which we return when the tale is at its end.
In some ways, the “metaverse” is a story - a digital history that exists and persists, with individuals participating and navigating that set of truths. How might that story, increasingly meaningful to “digital natives” that are growing up online, come to guide their behavior offline?
Harari’s Sapiens makes one thing clear - It is the tendency to rationalize through narrative that creates the order found in our communities, societies, and economies. These stories guide and shape our lives. Property rights, money, and the meaning of a flag can all be seen as tales we’ve come to take for granted as “real”, despite their intangible nature. They have become so foundational to our worldview that it is seen as laughably foolish and impractical to insist that these things don’t exist outside of our imagination. We operate pragmatically in an imagined world that is collectively accepted.
Imagine that a younger generation were to find that the status and achievements obtained in an online universe meant something significant to them. Social comparisons with their peers and the ‘in-group’ would begin to focus on this digital system. Eager to establish an identity in this new social world, they would seek to display symbols of prestige or dominance. Being able to claim affiliation with some tribe could prove just as meaningful to the individual seeking community.
The above captures the phenomenon of Instagram and Fortnite just as well as it describes the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and digital assets. We are human, and have a natural inclination to establish ourselves in the social groups that we deem relevant. It is continued relevance, in the eyes of our community and society, that dictates whether a status symbol is sought or discarded in the pile of meaningless junk that mattered to some older generation. The value of a rare Beanie Baby is in the eye of the beholder’s social circle.
The most forward thinking people I speak with get excited at the notion of a “metaverse” when it endeavors to serve as a digital perpendicularity to reality. Instead of serving purely as an evolution of digital escapism, the metaverse could become a set of digital identifiers and assets that are navigated as a pragmatic reality in business and global order. In this sense, the truest incarnation of the metaverse will aim to augment reality, instead of merely replacing it. The term “augmented reality” has historically been reduced to just the visual interface used to display information to a user. As we begin to better appreciate how society is changing, I propose that our understanding of this term will develop as well.
If this vision of a metaverse is realized, it will serve as an evolution to the myths we already assume to be true and real - Property rights, social identity, and the obligation to fulfill our agreements with one another. As this additional layer of technology becomes increasingly embedded into the standard interactions and interfaces we navigate daily, we will be forced to revisit our notion of what is ‘true’.
There continue to be developments indicating the collective global economic infrastructure is integrating itself with public blockchain technologies. As this trend continues, the line of what we see as ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’ may become blurred.
It is worth commenting on the modern fascination with NFTs. There is significant debate over the foolishness of paying inflated prices to “own a picture”, referring to assets like CryptoPunks and BAYC. If Ethereum (the platform these tokens are built on) serves as the digital asset management layer for the metaverse, the earliest assets that captured cultural attention will resemble the Gutenburg Bible more than niche collectibles. That being said, I have less conviction in derivative projects that don’t offer any novel development on the concept.
There are significant risks with this technology that must be recognized and addressed. Yet, as our culture increasingly promotes participation and interaction with the story that is the metaverse, it is inevitable that perspectives will change. Only time will tell whether this collective hallucination will take hold and come to serve as the evolved myth of property itself. If it does, it could advance human civilization to a new age of freedom and geopolitical accountability. However, if it is misused or subverted by the worst inclinations of our species, it could also doom us to the tyranny of a digital hell.
Whatever the case, our lived experience - “reality” - is at stake.