Facebook evolves into the metaverse: a centralized dystopian virtual world
He wants to do it bigger, but that doesn't mean better.Source: bitcoinist
Author: Julia Arvelaiz
Compiled by: Blockchain Knight
In recent years, Facebook's CEO has showcased plans for the future. As the social network loses popularity and public trust, he has shown a keen interest in new topics that do not involve the inquiries from Congress.
Zuckerberg wants to go beyond Facebook, beyond social media. Social media has already taken a significant place in almost everyone's life.
He hopes that the future vision will be larger than Facebook, even though Facebook can already influence people's decisions by analyzing their personal data.
He wants to do something bigger, but that does not mean better.
Aside from AR glasses, Zuckerberg's current main focus is on building the metaverse, an idea pointing to a true virtual world where people can genuinely enter virtual spaces.
Zuckerberg has invested millions of dollars in building a prototype of the metaverse. He has also announced plans to hire about 10,000 employees in Europe. Now he seems to be considering changing Facebook's name, an event that indicates the company's determination to transform.
Last summer, in an interview with The Verge, Zuckerberg mentioned the metaverse, "The metaverse will be a focus, and I think it will be an important part of how the internet develops after the mobile internet, and I think this will be the next focus for us as a company, and we will double down on this direction."
Companies with central authorities VS Global Free Trade
Of course, the term metaverse is not Zuckerberg's invention. Its origins can be traced back to 1992 when science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined it in his novel "Snow Crash."
When Zuckerberg announced his commitment to the metaverse, a Twitter user remarked, "The term 'metaverse' is used to describe 'corporate-owned virtual worlds where end-users will become citizens under the dystopian corporate dictatorship.'"
In response, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey commented, "He is the narrator."
Talking about Zuckerberg and Dorsey means discussing centralization versus decentralization, the all-knowing companies that want to dominate everything versus those that hope to achieve global free trade through Crypto and do not expect to take anything from users.
As a fervent advocate of Crypto, Dorsey believes in decentralized systems, global currencies, and international free trade of goods and services. He thinks Crypto will open the door to a future of world peace.
Dorsey's work on building a decentralized exchange for Crypto aims to be completely open, as he tweeted in July: "Open roadmap, open development, and open source."
When he plans to use the Crypto blockchain to bring more opportunities to the world, he is entirely opposed to Zuckerberg's idea of dominating the new world and influencing users for personal gain.
Zuckerberg sees the power of Crypto as a means to gain more control, while Dorsey views Crypto as the native currency of the future internet and the foundation for non-custodial wallets that everyone can use.
The rulers of a dystopian world
While testimonies from former Facebook employees harshly criticize the company, it releases some details about the metaverse when the parliamentary committee hears these announcements.
The Washington Post emphasized this in September, stating that Facebook's intentions are clearly political, aimed at restoring its reputation.
The words of Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, raised widespread concerns among the public.
As long as you can make technology seem fresh and cool, you can evade regulation, and you can develop for years before the government catches up to defend it.
Zuckerberg's historical actions do not indicate that he is a person fighting for democracy; he is fighting for himself. The metaverse strategy does not fully encompass the characteristics of his company. If he is the one ruling our future reality, what hope is there for a decentralized world?
Facebook's massive manipulation does not paint a sunny picture for virtual reality, where, aside from reading our data and selling it, they can also hear our voices, see us in real-time, know how we behave, and further influence the masses.
Current market value of Facebook, source: Facebook, Inc.
This is not just about Facebook dominating virtual reality; the thoughts, politics, and economy of this world may be completely controlled by the top 1%.
From his own perspective, he questions whether virtual reality can make social interactions closer than screens do. Isn't this just further isolating us by masking our need for human contact with new gadgets?
Welcome to a dystopian world where "evil companies" not only manipulate democracy but also expose human needs.
Meanwhile, the coalition of Crypto enthusiasts may be more powerful: focusing on significant issues in the world economy; protecting user needs and privacy to reflect true democratic actions; aiming to make international free trade a bond that people can genuinely benefit from.
