The much-discussed "metaverse" has brought a disruption to the market but also declared a possibility for future innovation, stated Lee-Feng Chien, former managing director of Google Taiwan and current board member of Appier and iKala. With Web3 as a basis, developers, governments, and users are all looking forward to more new technological development.
Chien raises three perspectives worth noting regarding the metaverse: First, allows everyone to examine new technological opportunities. For instance, past blockchain technology was initially meant for confidentiality. Now, it's able to create trust and decentralization. AR/VR is a technology, but they also provide content that's a fusion of virtual and reality.
The second is the indication of technology trends. We've already observed that investment is increasingly directed toward Web3, with trends in credibility, high-speed transfer, and 3D content.
The third is that everyone needs to pay attention to the possible impacts of these technologies, such as information security, privacy, and equality. AI technology has already caused racial controversy and increased the economic gap. The metaverse will affect the development of technology and society, causing the strong to get stronger and the weak to get weaker.
Chien mentioned that right now, the region that has been paying the most attention to the metaverse is East Asia. In addition, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been the biggest beneficiary. The metaverse is an open and fair virtual world built using blockchain technology, thus everyone can play games, purchase items and socialize through NFT virtual property.
The pandemic also worked to the metaverse's advantage as it allowed more people to imagine digital life. Chien emphasized that "the metaverse is like an elephant." It is so big that each person and each industry has only grasped a tiny portion of it so far. Everyone is still feeling it out and trying to describe their understanding of the metaverse. Even those who aren't familiar with the internet and the digital world are forced to experience digital life.
