Metaverse: The Potentials

 By Baha'a Armouti  

I started visiting the Metaverse about five months ago to explore its impact on law and technology. And to learn about its potential dynamics in operating blockchain systems and smart contracts. 

Access to the Metaverse is possible through Facebook's "Oculus Quest 2" headset. The headset is wireless, and the "apps" are displayed directly on the lenses, controlled by light and user-friendly wireless joysticks. Also, you can choose to control the headset by the motion of your hands. 

As soon as the headset is turned on and connected to the Internet, you will enter the Metaverse. 

The Metaverse is a world unto itself. I can virtually travel and wander through cities worldwide in the blink of an eye! I also visited space in a space shuttle, where I learned about its mechanics while virtually floating inside it due to the lack of gravity! And as I turned my head to look through one of its windows, I saw Earth! Jaw-dropping!

I went to the cinema to watch a Sci-Fi movie on a screen bigger than real cinema. I also met people from all over the world and spoke to them over a super-designed meeting table. Also, I was able to get inside a whale and even a mosquito and observe their biological aspects with the utmost accuracy!

I worked out in the Metaverse competitively, with an adrenaline rush! I played boxing against virtual boxers in arenas filled with crowds cheering, shouting, and applauding the winner. Each match I finish, I end up sweating heavily and burning thousands of calories! I also climbed Everest Mountain, and with every step up, I observed every detail around me with genuine emotion. 

There is no doubt that the three-dimensional world of Metaverse is coming. However, I believe many challenges will accompany the experience. 

If used excessively, it will have many disadvantages for people who lack time management knowledge, especially those who are addicted to consuming video games. 

On the other hand, it offers tremendous opportunities. There is no doubt it will employ a considerable segment of people from numerous sectors. On the practice side, science can be perfectly applied in the Metaverse, especially in medical and engineering education. It will also help people with special needs, unprecedently, earn graduate and postgraduate education, and move in this world freely and productively.

Also, it offers efficient exercising at home to a large extent. There are vast virtual spaces to exercise with people and trainers in different sports, such as aerobics, skating, golf, boxing, tennis, and table tennis. 

The Metaverse will also be significant in the world of marketing. It is possible, for example, to set up Metaverse stores that mimic actual stores, where you can buy items directly from the virtual shelves with cryptocurrency or regular money, whereas your purchased items can be delivered to your actual address!. 

In business and business management, meetings and lectures may be perfectly held remotely, where people can meet inside a room and creatively interact and collaborate like never before. You can design, build, sell products and services, chat and discuss topics with others, and write or draw directly on any space in this virtual world. Also, you can exchange files with others using your virtual hand!

On the legal side, we may see courts in the Metaverse looking into disputes arising from interaction in this world or even in the real world, especially when the one-user one-identity system becomes possible through blockchain technology. 

Smart contracts will be created and executed in the Metaverse, a game-changer in law and the commercial, scientific, cultural, and social exchange between people worldwide. It will also be possible to buy and trade virtual lands to build monuments, museums, homes, governmental bodies, parliaments, and offices. Last month, a virtual plot of land was sold for a record $2.4 million!

Significant legislative amendments may be required worldwide to regulate Metaverse transactions, especially provisions related to competition, international trade, data protection and finance. Facebook's Metaverse is the most advanced platform so far. But this will inevitably spark competition to create new platforms by other operators, such as Apple and Samsung. Eventually, the platforms will connect to make it an endless sprawling world! 

I do not doubt that the Metaverse will attract people more and more. But I think this will mostly depend on how smaller and lighter the headset can get, as you may feel discomfort after 30–40 minutes of use.

Concerning current technological advancements, experts are working today on making "Metaverse Gloves" that let you feel things inside, and they may be available soon! 

I believe the economy, as we know it, will change dramatically, especially after the end of the pandemic. Therefore, any country's economic development and growth will rely mainly on innovation and keeping pace with technological advancements and changes.

The video below is a recording I made with my glasses in the Metaverse while exercising on my stationary bike, riding in Zagreb City and observing the nature around me in 360 mode! Innovation has no boundaries! 

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Disclaimer: The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular matter. It does not constitute legal advice nor presumed indefinitely up to date.