(Through the observation of things) "Wind mouth" or "tiger mouth": how should we view the meta universe?
China News Service, Beijing, November 11th, title: "Tiger's mouth" or "Tiger's mouth": How should we view the meta universe?
China News Agency reporter Liu Liang
With the announcement of Facebook’s official name change to “Meta”, the rapidly popular “meta universe” concept once again set off an upsurge of attention.
What is the meta universe?
Under the enthusiasm, is the meta universe a "wind mouth" or a "tiger mouth"?
How should we view the meta universe rationally?
Recently, Li Yang, associate professor of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, analyzed issues related to Metaverse to a reporter from China News Agency.
What is "meta universe"?
The term "meta universe" has received widespread attention recently, but in fact, the term "meta universe" is not a new concept.
Li Yang pointed out that the word "metaverse" was translated from the English "Metaverse", and was first created by American writer Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel "Avalanche" (meta+universe), which was published in 1992. ).
This time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook has officially changed its name to "Meta". The word "Meta" is taken from the prefix of "Metaverse".
Li Yang introduced that, in addition to the translation of "yuan", the word "meta" actually contains the meaning of "transcendence" and "after". For example, "metaphysics" (metaphysics) has a meaning beyond the material world itself.
"If you want to translate more vividly, the super universe or post universe may better reflect the difference between the meta universe and our current real world. It is a universe and virtual world beyond our observable reality, and it is an artificially created illusion of a digital world. And mapping." Li Yang said.
Just as Neil Stephenson described the meta-universe in the novel "Avalanche", as long as people wear headphones and eyepieces and find a connection terminal, they can enter a virtual space simulated by a computer and parallel to the real world in the form of a virtual clone.
Regarding the concept of "meta universe", Li Yang said frankly that there is currently no unified definition.
In his view, Metaverse actually describes people's vision of the future world after the development of digital technology: a world where the boundaries between the virtual world and the real world are further blurred.
How far is the meta-universe era?
Li Yang pointed out that in order to create a "sensation of reality" comparable to the real world, Metaverse not only needs to focus on the human body's "five senses" (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and sensation), it also needs to create the reality of the environment and the reality of social experience. feel.
This requires different cutting-edge technologies to support behind, involving VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality) technology, as well as big data, transmission technology, edge computing, cloud computing, graphics computing, AI (artificial intelligence), etc.
"It requires a high degree of integration of a variety of cutting-edge related technologies to be possible, but now it seems that we are far from reaching this point." Li Yang said.
Since the meta universe is still far away from us, why has this concept suddenly been widely spread during this period of time?
Li Yang analyzed many reasons.
First of all, from a technical perspective, the meta-universe is related to certain current technical aspects.
For example, we are familiar with VR, AR, artificial intelligence, graphics computing, etc.
In other words, many current cutting-edge digital technologies belong to the technical details of the meta universe.
Secondly, it carries the expectation and sustenance for the future Internet form.
At present, the global Internet industry has experienced greater regulatory and public pressure after its brutal growth, and it needs to seek new development opportunities.
Finally, from the perspective of the general environment, due to the continued impact of the new crown epidemic, more and more work is done online, and the boundary between reality and virtual has become increasingly blurred.
While the epidemic has accelerated online and offline integration, it has also become a reason for people to discuss the future world.
From the perspective of potential application scenarios, Li Yang pointed out that the virtual economy and the game industry are currently closer to the application scenarios of the meta universe.
In this regard, the commercialization of the Chinese market is also in a leading position relative to other countries.
In the future, if Metaverse is realized, the Chinese game industry may usher in new opportunities.
"Wind mouth" or "tiger mouth"?
While the concept of meta universe is hot, it also drives the rise of related concept stocks, as if it has become an important investment outlet overnight.
But there are also voices reminding us to beware of changing the "wind mouth" to "tiger mouth".
"Almost every time a big concept or a global concept appears, there will be similar capital market fluctuations, such as the blockchain bubble a few years ago." In Li Yang's view, this is nothing but "historical repeats." .
When it comes to investment, he emphasized that institutions with professional investment experience will pay more attention to investment evidence and detailed support when making judgments, and will not be easily influenced by illusory concepts.
In addition, in the current epidemic environment, economic uncertainty is increasing, and investors need to look at the concept of bubble more rationally and cautiously, so don't forget the basic logic of the market and economics.
In his view, there is a long way to go before the realization of a true parallel virtual world. Investors must clearly understand the hidden risks when betting on the concepts related to the meta universe. This includes not only the risk of public opinion bubbles, but also economic risks, regulatory issues, and ethical constraints. And other series of questions.
Li Yang said that a few years ago, the blockchain was also popular with the market and capital, but the facts have proved that there are still many immature links that need to be improved.
In the same way, the related technologies behind the meta-universe are still in an immature stage of development and are also facing the test of "historical replay".
(over)