Media magnate, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is pouring billions into the metaverse. The billionaire might find himself guiding some 5 billion users into the new virtual world as the chief computer genius spearheading the massive notion. His massive investments in the company’s future in the metaverse, which he describes as an “embodied internet,” indicate his vision to make it a communal enterprise. Experts anticipate that not only will people flock to the platform, but it will also become a multitrillion-dollar portion of the global economy.
According to a report by Harvard Business Review, the metaverse has the potential to reshape the workplace in at least four ways: new forms of team collaboration, digital, AI-enabled colleagues, the acceleration of learning and skill acquisition through virtualization and gamified technologies, and the rise of a metaverse economy with entirely new enterprises and work roles.
Incorporating elements of adventure, spontaneity, and surprise into the office and work environment, the metaverse opens up new opportunities for rethinking the office and work environment.
Virtual reality role playing exercises and simulations will become more widespread, allowing worker avatars to learn in very realistic “game play” scenarios like “the high-pressure sales presentation,” “the tough client,” or “a problematic employee interaction.”
Citi estimates that it may be worth $8 trillion ( £6.1 trillion) to $13 trillion ( £9.9 trillion) in eight years. However, getting to that point will necessitate a significant investment. It claims that it will be an “open” digital environment that will be owned and regulated by the community, with the interoperable version protecting people’s privacy by design.
Citi believes the metaverse will find uses in social collaboration and healthcare, in addition to shopping, art, media, and advertising. Even though a virtual reality (VR) headset is required to explore the metaverse today, the metaverse of the future will be device-agnostic.
A move to a metaverse accessible by personal computers, smartphones, gaming consoles, and other such devices could connect more than five billion people worldwide by 2030, with a market potential of $8 to $13 trillion.
The paper also highlights the main gaps that must be addressed if this promise is to be realized, such as computing efficiency, which is a major roadblock. The metaverse will require blockchain technologies that enable interoperability and smooth exchange, according to Citi’s analysis, but fiat money, stablecoins, and central bank-issued digital currencies (CBDCs) will also find a place in the metaverse.
And, the business will attract regulators and governments who will need to establish new laws for this new world order as money pours in and the user base grows.
