Metaverse

Technology expert Yin Ruizhi believes that the current artificial intelligence fever is still at its nascent stage whereby tech companies need to focus on technical development before it becomes profitable. However, compared with the previous breakthroughs in the mobile internet era, the tech industry is exploring emerging business paradigms with no rush to capitalise on generative AI for now.

Major staff cuts at the metaverse units of ByteDance and Tencent have highlighted the sometimes disorganised ways that big tech firms have handled investments in new businesses. Now, grand development plans have been shelved, not so much because of a looming regulatory risk, but because of the difficulties of navigating a vaguely defined sector with patchy overall demand.

The phrase “metaverse” has been bandied about but what exactly is it and how far along is the project? Academic James Pang and entrepreneur Liang Xinjun explain that the implications of this development are larger than most think. The metaverse is not so much a sub-world to enter into on the side but the integration of the real and virtual worlds and economic systems, essentially creating a new world with new governance structures and norms. US and Chinese firms are, of course, racing to get a big slice of the future.

Technology expert Yin Ruizhi notes that Microsoft’s recent announcement to acquire gaming company Activision Blizzard is not just about breaking into the gaming market, but an important step towards building its capabilities to develop the metaverse. Can it succeed and will other Western tech giants follow?

When it comes to the metaverse, the various tech giants are taking different approaches, from conservative to aggressive. Technology expert Yin Ruizhi takes a look at three major players — Facebook, Nvidia, and Tencent — and their respective strategies, and how they are likely to contribute to building the metaverse.

The non-fungible token (NFT) is a growing phenomenon in China, despite a cautious regulatory environment and official hostility to cryptocurrencies, which also use blockchain technology. But experts warn that as with every technology, particularly new ones, there is also a risk of misuse, such as in instances of fraud or compromised accounts.

In this second article in a series on the metaverse, technology expert Yin Ruizhi says that video creation platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou, as well as sandbox games such as Mini World, might give an idea of how users can help create the virtual world in the metaverse if the financial and creative bar is lowered such that participating is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

One of the hottest buzzwords recently is the metaverse. In this first article in a series on the topic, technology expert Yin Ruizhi explains what the metaverse is, what would make it viable and why creating the metaverse is still very much a pipe dream.

Academic Pei Sai Fan says that one should dream big with the metaverse and not only see it as a new avenue of making money. By creating a new virtual universe from scratch, we can make good use of the blockchain-based metaverse to promote an equitable, more transparent and more inclusive rules-based international digital currency and financial system and enhance the global governance system to deal with issues facing all countries. This would require a global approach and China is well placed technologically to actively participate and lead the effort with like-minded nations in creating such a metaverse. It would be a pity if countries squandered such an opportunity to truly build a better world for all mankind.