Key idea: Some experts warn that the problems arising from today’s uses of online tools may pose even greater threats when digital life becomes even more all-encompassing.
Original author and publication date: Dan Anderson – June 30, 2022
Futurizonte Editor’s Note: The Metaverse is still in its infancy and it is already impacting our lives. What kind of impact the Metaverse will have on us once it reaches a more mature form?
From the article:
The evolution of technology to extend the bounds of reality – creating a multidimensional world known as the metaverse – has experts pondering its potential benefits and drawbacks for humanity. Many predict that augmented- and mixed-reality enhancements will become more useful in our daily lives in the next 15 years than fully-immersive virtual reality. Some warn that the problems arising from today’s uses of online tools may pose even greater threats when digital life becomes even more all-encompassing.
More than 600 experts’ views of this potential future are explored in a new report by Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center. Access the full report here.
This report is part of a long-running series about the future of digital life. It is based on a nonscientific canvassing of technology innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers and activists who were asked to consider the trajectory and impact of the metaverse by 2040. In all, 624 respondents shared their views, 54% of saying they expect by 2040 the metaverse will be a much-more-refined and truly fully-immersive, well-functioning aspect of daily life for a half billion or more people globally, and 46% said that they expect that will not happen.
“Two leading themes emerged from these experts’ responses,” said Janna Quitney Anderson, professor of communications and executive director of the Imagining the Internet Center. “
First, many expect full virtual reality (VR) to remain primarily a niche space for gaming and entertainment – that it will not be as well-developed and broadly embraced in people’s daily lives by 2040 as augmented-reality (AR) tools that people can simply and easily use to create information layers in the real world.
“And second, a notable share warned that extended reality (XR) tools could dramatically magnify every human trait and tendency – both the bad and the good.”
