Critics say it’s overhyped and a regulatory minefield

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Wall Street is extremely excited about the metaverse, calling it the next big investing theme that could change the world. But critics say the idea is hugely overhyped and wonder if virtual worlds will really take off. Others say the whole idea is one big regulatory minefield, where platforms will have to keep a close eye on harassment and hate speech. LoadingSomething is being loaded.

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The metaverse is the talk of Wall Street, with investors desperate to jump on the trend that many believe could be the future of the internet.

Jefferies said it could be the biggest disruption to human life ever. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest said it was a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

But critics have warned that the metaverse is becoming grossly overrated, and companies are applying the tag to any old projects involving games, VR or non-fungible tokens. They say any metaverse will be fiendishly difficult to control and will be one big regulatory nightmare.

“The metaverse” is a very vague term. Basically, it refers to virtual worlds where people (using avatars) can play games, work, create and trade things, watch virtual concerts, hang out, etc. Some think there will be one big metaverse, while others envision a multitude.

Facebook has pivoted to focus on virtual worlds, after being rebranded as Meta in October. His decision sparked an outpouring of interest among investors around the world, with Morgan Stanley calling it “the next big thing” in investing.

Who wants to live in the Metaverse?

Elon Musk pored over the concept last week, saying he wasn’t sure whether to buy it. The Tesla CEO told the Babylon Bee website that he didn’t like the idea of ​​having virtual reality goggles “strapped on your head all the time”.

Even Nick Clegg, Meta’s communications manager, called his company’s own VR headset “wretched” in an interview with the Financial Times.

These grunts underscore a key question for gauging the prospects of the Metaverse: will people really want to spend a great deal of their time in virtual worlds, especially if it requires them to carry bulky gadgets?

Read more: ‘We’re clearly in a bubble right now’: Wharton blockchain and digital assets professor explains why metaverse and web 3.0 are still ‘too early to be real’

Generation Z, or those between the ages of 9 and 24, will drive adoption of the metaverse, Jefferies analysts believe.

But a Harris Poll found that only 38% of Gen Zers agree that “the Metaverse is the next big thing and will be a part of our lives for the next decade.”

“I think they’re skeptical,” Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at Harris Poll, told Insider.

Rodney said Gen Zers have been locked indoors throughout the pandemic. “A world has been taken from them, which is the world of real life, [and] they want to get out.”

And Meta and Microsoft’s suggestion of the metaverse as a place to work might meet with an interesting response, according to Ethan Zuckerman, associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Their idea of ​​holding business meetings in the form of expressionless avatars is “the kind of thing that only an IT guy would love,” he told Insider.

It’s a regulatory minefield

But the need to monitor virtual worlds to protect security and free speech, and the onerous regulations that come with it, could prove to be the biggest stumbling block.

Women have reported being harassed, groped, or made to feel uncomfortable in various metaverses. This underscores the conundrum for companies that want to create worlds in which everyone can freely participate. As tech giants have learned, scandals attract political scrutiny.

Zuckerman, who built an early metaverse in the 1990s, said securing virtual worlds has always been a challenge.

Content creators out there can come up with beautiful fireworks that spell, say, “Happy Birthday.” But the academic said it will only take 15 minutes before others do the same with hateful posts.

Moderation and community enforcement in the metaverse “is going to pose a whole new set of problems,” he said.

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