Latin America. Mark Zuckerberg will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the key men when it comes to explaining the drift of humanity in the last twenty years. Its merit? Create the social network Facebook and, with it, a way to relate. After almost two decades, the young visionary announced a few weeks ago that he is preparing an innovative project baptized with the promising name of Metaverse.
Zuckerberg's new "creature", as he explained during his presentation, is a space for interaction of machines, idealized avatars and a new virtual world where art, architecture, beauty and fiction meet to socialize, buy or do business. And all this, "by work and grace" of virtual reality and augmented reality.
"Zuckerberg had been talking about the metaverse for months, and Facebook has been investing astronomical amounts for years in developing or buying virtual reality devices and functionalities," says Ferran Lalueza, professor of Information and Communication Sciences Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and researcher at the GAME group (Learning, Media and Entertainment). who assures that, according to the head of Meta, this project will still take a decade to materialize.
In fact, experts such as César Córcoles, professor of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications Studies at the UOC, argue that there is still a long way to go in terms of technology. "On the one hand, screens need to grow in resolution and refresh rate. On the other hand, helmets should become more comfortable or, at least, lighter, if we want to spend several hours a day with them, "says the professor. And he adds: "We also have to find devices that allow us to better interact with virtual reality worlds: the controls we have now, as well as gesture recognition, are more than enough for many uses, but they fall short if we want the technology to be deployed among the general public."
We live the last tails of Facebook
After 17 years of followers and likes, experts say that Facebook is "in a fallen layer". The latest studies reveal a stagnation, and even a downward trend in the number of its members. On the other hand, about 51% of the users of this network are in men between 18 and 64 years old, while women of the same age account for 38%, according to the We Are Social report. These figures support the theory that "as a social network, Facebook is already irrelevant for the new generations," says Lalueza.
Now, does that mean that the members of these "new generations" will be the only ones who will become users of the metaverse? Will older groups be left out? According to Pierre Bourdin, professor of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications at the UOC, "it will cost some people more than others and they will surely be left out. But, overall, I think it will be accessible to consumers of all ages. It is possible to make the comparison with the appearance of mobile phones. At first, it was something uncommon, for technology enthusiasts. However, today there are few people who do not have a mobile phone."
A facelift at the right time
The announcement of the metaverse was made in order to run a dense "smokescreen". "It is clear that the idea was to divert attention from the very serious accusations made by former employee Frances Haugen and the impact that the 'megapagón' had shortly before on all the group's platforms," says Lalueza.
The bad reputation that the social network has earned has already begun to splash the rest of the group's platforms such as WhatsApp or Instagram, which "were incorporated into the conglomerate at the stroke of a checkbook", reminds us Lalueza, who believes that "playing everything to a card as uncertain as the metaverse may seem risky, but probably the alternative is none other than to languish until it sinks completely into a sea of scandals against competitors who, like TikTok, they already show their teeth and consolidate themselves as clear contenders for the podium of social networks."
Revolution or natural evolution?
It is believed that the new platform will not be up and running for another decade. Is this period enough time for us to live its implementation as a natural evolution of Facebook? That's what it looks like. At least that is what Pierre Bourdin thinks, who does not believe that there will be a rupture, but rather an evolution. "It seems to me that there will be a convergence between communication network technologies, mobile technologies and virtual and augmented or mixed reality. That is, I think that soon we will have a mobile device connected to our glasses and perhaps a bracelet or other device of this type that will allow access to this metaverse, "reflects the expert.
Now, what technology will make the "miracle" possible? Experts predict that the enabling technology of this virtual world will not be 5G, but that the future 6G will be implemented. This will allow us to put on augmented reality glasses and see information overprinted in our visual field, or virtual reality glasses that give us access to an infinity of unsuspected experiences. "6G will probably make its way into sectors such as video games, film, television, fashion, music, advertising and, why not, travel agencies, which will be able to propose holidays in the metaverse," predicts Bourdin.
Supporting this idea, Professor Córcoles points out that "the bandwidths and latency of 6G technology could justify its use in augmented reality in mobility that includes the scenario described for the metaverse".
Delving into the technological aspect of the project, Córcoles assures that the point of greatest difficulty in the field of virtual reality is interaction. And it is that, "right now there is no definitive solution to that problem, and I do not think you can reach the general public without solving it."
In fact, the expert is not totally convinced that Zuckerberg's metaverse will materialize, since it would not be the first time that it is announced that in five or ten years virtual and augmented reality will conquer our day to day. "This time could be the good one, but there are important issues to resolve," he concludes.
The metaverse will be a more sustainable world
Assuming that we attend its implementation, there are many experts who believe that those who do not "get on the bandwagon" will be outdated. Among them is Professor Lalueza, who points out that the developers of this new space will sell it to us as a spectacular qualitative leap of the internet. In this way, the feeling they intend to create in society is that, if you are not part of the metaverse, you will be left behind and you will miss the new opportunities offered by the new "Zuckerbergian" world.
Now, what opportunities does the expert refer to? The teacher believes that "in a way, the metaverse can contribute to the sustainability of the planet by avoiding displacements and certain expenses. In addition, he continues, it can provide very realistic experiences to people who would otherwise hardly have the opportunity to live them, which, to some extent, has a democratizing effect."
An unreal universe with real dangers
On the other side of the scale we would find the cons, that is, the risks that Lalueza believes this future virtual world would contain. The expert points out three: "The first, that we end up dedicating more time and energy to the simulation that the metaverse supposes. This hypothesis may seem inconceivable, but, in fact, current social networks already generate in many people the need to do things with the sole and exclusive purpose of exhibiting them later on those platforms. The second danger is that with the actions we develop in the metaverse we will reveal much more information about ourselves – and in a much more unconscious way – than with the contents we share on today's networks, which is often recklessly excessive. And the third is that certain scourges such as harassment, hate speech and the like can be harmfully enhanced by the immersive and highly realistic nature of the environment."
In this same line, Pierre Bourdin warns that "although this world is virtual, the experiences that people will live there will be real. I mean, a problem in the virtual world, such as frustration or exclusion, can lead to real trauma." And he gives as an example the harassment in the network, which can become the cause of the suicide of some young people.
Side effects that the metaverse will bring us
Although the metaverse is still nothing more than an entelechy, it is worth asking some questions related to certain areas related to this virtual cosmos. These are questions that, at present, have no answer, but that Professor Bourdin throws into the air with the aim of deepening the matter. Here are some of them:
* What will be the ethics of this world?
* How will this "cyber life" be regulated?
* Who will be in control?
* Who will decide the rules?
* What will be the role of governments?
We will see if time, little by little, reveals the answers to these and other questions that the announcement of the metaverse awakens. Today, the only thing we know for sure is that "those passionate about digital technologies have a few years ahead of us in which we will be very entertained witnessing the race that is going to take place", predicts Professor César Córcoles.
Analysis published by the Open University of Catalonia, UOC.
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