One of the first Facebook investors called the social media giant's plans for the metaverse "dystopian." Meta, as Facebook is now called, invests billions in the project. However, Roger McNamee said, "It's a bad idea, and the fact that we're all sitting around looking at it like it's normal should be alarming to everyone."
Meta Product director Chris Cox told participants at the Lisbon web summit that "this idea will make the internet less flat." However, speaking at the same event, Roger McNamee was very skeptical. "Facebook cannot be allowed to create a dystopian metaverse," he said.
Roger McNamee has become critical of Facebook as he has started to see more misinformation on the platform. He said he wasn't sure the metaverse would be safe in the hands of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. "Facebook should never be allowed by a regulator or a politician to operate in the metaverse or engage in cryptocurrencies," he said. "Facebook should have lost the right to make its own choice. There should be a regulator giving preliminary approval to everything they do. The amount of damage caused by them is incalculable."
Real life
Chris Cox, speaking on behalf of Meta, put forward a different point of view: the idea of a metaverse is the next step for the Internet as a whole, and not just for his company. "Technology often starts with lower—resolution versions of what it becomes," he said. The feedback from users of Meta's Oculus virtual reality headset was that the technology, which was constantly being improved, could be "incredibly funny."
Chris Cox told Nicholas Carlson, editor-in-chief of the Insider news outlet, that his own intervention in the metaverse involved holding meetings and entertainment for staff. He said he and his wife watched a comedy show with Facebook employees in which everyone looked like avatars: "There are twenty of us in the room, all laughing, all together." According to him, the same technology was a good alternative to video calls. "Everyone is tired of video conferences. It is not known who is looking at whom, everyone is constantly interrupting each other." According to him, meetings in the metaverse would be much better if Meta worked on how to improve "spatial sound and body language" in virtual reality. When asked why someone would want to meet in virtual reality, he replied: "It won't replace real life — it won't replace anything, and I'm not going to come up with something that can replace it."
Metaverse availability
He acknowledged that no company like Meta would own a metaverse, pointing to Roblox as an example. Roblox, a user-created gaming platform worth 30 billion and with 43 million users worldwide, which has its own plans for the metaverse. CEO David Baszuki has been outlining his vision for a digital place where people play, work or study for several years.
At the web summit, Roblox music director John Vlassopoulos said: "I think our point of view on the metaverse is this: we are opening up a virtual space, and we feel that it should be a place accessible to everyone, a place where people can express themselves and communicate with each other. We are glad that more and more people are turning to the virtual space."
Chris Cox was asked if the metaverse, which Nicholas Carlson called a "cartoon world," is something that a tech giant should control. He said that a "set of standards and a set of protocols" would be required, as well as a "public discourse" on how to secure the space. He also added that Mark Zuckerberg is committed to security, which, according to him, "the company has been working on for more than a decade."
Meta Product director Chris Cox told participants at the Lisbon web summit that "this idea will make the internet less flat." However, speaking at the same event, Roger McNamee was very skeptical. "Facebook cannot be allowed to create a dystopian metaverse," he said.
Roger McNamee has become critical of Facebook as he has started to see more misinformation on the platform. He said he wasn't sure the metaverse would be safe in the hands of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. "Facebook should never be allowed by a regulator or a politician to operate in the metaverse or engage in cryptocurrencies," he said. "Facebook should have lost the right to make its own choice. There should be a regulator giving preliminary approval to everything they do. The amount of damage caused by them is incalculable."
Real life
Chris Cox, speaking on behalf of Meta, put forward a different point of view: the idea of a metaverse is the next step for the Internet as a whole, and not just for his company. "Technology often starts with lower—resolution versions of what it becomes," he said. The feedback from users of Meta's Oculus virtual reality headset was that the technology, which was constantly being improved, could be "incredibly funny."
Chris Cox told Nicholas Carlson, editor-in-chief of the Insider news outlet, that his own intervention in the metaverse involved holding meetings and entertainment for staff. He said he and his wife watched a comedy show with Facebook employees in which everyone looked like avatars: "There are twenty of us in the room, all laughing, all together." According to him, the same technology was a good alternative to video calls. "Everyone is tired of video conferences. It is not known who is looking at whom, everyone is constantly interrupting each other." According to him, meetings in the metaverse would be much better if Meta worked on how to improve "spatial sound and body language" in virtual reality. When asked why someone would want to meet in virtual reality, he replied: "It won't replace real life — it won't replace anything, and I'm not going to come up with something that can replace it."
Metaverse availability
He acknowledged that no company like Meta would own a metaverse, pointing to Roblox as an example. Roblox, a user-created gaming platform worth 30 billion and with 43 million users worldwide, which has its own plans for the metaverse. CEO David Baszuki has been outlining his vision for a digital place where people play, work or study for several years.
At the web summit, Roblox music director John Vlassopoulos said: "I think our point of view on the metaverse is this: we are opening up a virtual space, and we feel that it should be a place accessible to everyone, a place where people can express themselves and communicate with each other. We are glad that more and more people are turning to the virtual space."
Chris Cox was asked if the metaverse, which Nicholas Carlson called a "cartoon world," is something that a tech giant should control. He said that a "set of standards and a set of protocols" would be required, as well as a "public discourse" on how to secure the space. He also added that Mark Zuckerberg is committed to security, which, according to him, "the company has been working on for more than a decade."