In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Neil Stevenson, an acclaimed American science fiction writer, shared his insights into the future of the metaverse and what conditions are needed for its widespread adoption.
Despite being a visionary in the realm of science fiction, Stevenson expressed skepticism about the popularity of the metaverse until people themselves see the value of living in a digital world.
He noted that in order for the concept of virtual reality to gain worldwide support, it must offer a unique experience for millions of users, which is a challenging bar to achieve.
Stevenson cited Valheim, an open world survival simulation video game, as an example of successful implementation of a virtual experience.
He found procedural content generation to be an interesting technological solution, as it offers constantly new game maps that make the game world seem huge.
Stevenson acknowledged that although there are quality products made by hand, in the case of the metaverse, complete freedom of action is needed.
The future of the virtual world, according to Stevenson, should be built on the principle of decentralization.
He believes that blockchain and decentralized finance could connect various virtual worlds within a single metaverse.
Stevenson first coined the term “metaverse” in his Snow Crash books in the early 90s, where he combined various genres such as history, linguistics, and computer science.
Despite the potential of the metaverse, its emergence is still very far away, as recognized by Intel and Huawei.
Nevertheless, some of the nuances associated with the confidentiality of data in virtual reality have already begun to be studied among universities. Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have concluded that it takes up to 100 seconds to identify a user in virtual reality, with an accuracy of identifying a person reaching 94%.
The placement of a VR headset on the human body is unique, which enables researchers to identify the person behind the virtual avatar in some cases in just a couple of seconds.
One of the solutions to combat surveillance in the metaverse involves data delay, where the flow of data to external servers can be slowed down and edited.
However, this approach will reduce the accuracy of data transmission in virtual reality, which will affect the user experience.