has an overview of the world. Matthew Ball, known as the father of metaverse business, or one of the experts who understands the metaverse best. Insights have had a profound impact on Mark Zuckerberg , Bill Gates , Jeff Bezos and more. Matthew Ball's recently published "Metaverse Changes Everything" has been received by Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook,, Reed Hastings, , Netflix, , , Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, Microsoft Recommended by game CEO Phil Spencer and other big names.
Recently, Matthew Ball accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Shell Finance, and elaborated on his definition of the metaverse, how humans should build the metaverse, and how the metaverse "changes everything". Matthew Ball believes that the realization of the metaverse is a gradual process, and this process has already begun. It is expected that the metaverse will account for half of the global economy in the second half of this century. The current metaverse technologies are still facing severe and mutual Contradictory limitations, but the breakthrough of one technology often "speeds up" the breakthrough of other related technologies, so consider building a metaverse ecology, which cannot be completed by a single company.
Regarding NFT, which is currently carrying the concept of the metaverse, Matthew Ball believes that technologies such as blockchain and NFT may become part of the foundation of the current metaverse, but blockchain and NFT are not required to build the metaverse. In his view, China is most likely to produce the most comprehensive, interoperable and earliest version of the metaverse.
Matthew Ball. Photo / Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Half of the global economy will be in the metaverse in the second half of this century
Shell Finance: Please introduce your definition of the metaverse?
Matthew Ball: My definition of the metaverse is: "A large-scale, interoperable network capable of rendering 3D virtual worlds in real-time, leveraging massive amounts of continuous data such as identities, histories, rights, objects, communications and payments, etc., allowing an unlimited number of users to experience real-time synchronization and continuous presence.”
This definition contains 8 elements (virtual world, 3D, real-time rendering, interoperability, massive scale, persistence, synchronicity, unlimited users, and individual existence), it needs to be emphasized that each element is a key element, and achieving it requires experience or technical support. When we simplify these 8 elements, it makes up the Internet we are now using, sharing and adopting 3D technology.
Shell Finance: At present, there are technological gaps in many aspects between human beings and the ideal metaverse world. Can you rank these technological gaps in terms of the difficulty of implementation? Where do you think the biggest technology gaps come from?
Matthew Ball: Most technologies cannot be completely separated, a good example is the interplay between the "network" and "computing" parts.
The easiest, cheapest and fastest way to increase computing power is to build remote and edge data centers. However, the Metaverse requires ultra-low latency, which often means that information processed by the data center cannot reach users in a timely manner. As a result, many, like Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games, believe that investing in client computing power (i.e. mobile phones) is more efficient.
At the same time, we need to improve the Internet network, and the reason has nothing to do with computing, because even an emoji package, users want to send it to each other immediately, if we can improve the network, the challenge of computing power will become easier.
Silicon Valley has an old adage - "the network is the computer". The Metaverse is a vast, synchronized network of computers that we have never seen before, with users interconnected and interdependent.
On the hardware side, current mixed reality devices face many limitations. For example, a headset can't be too heavy, too hot, or too expensive, but it still needs to be powerful, have a long battery life, and do many things a smartphone doesn't, like scanning the world around you. And these features are often contradictory, with heavier, more power-hungry devices being more powerful than lighter-weight devices with shorter battery life. Therefore, addressing mixed reality hardware requires consideration of battery life, optics, 5G network or computer processors and many other technological advancements. These technological advancements are all interrelated, and when one is done it makes the other easier to do, so we need to think about improving the ecosystem. That's why the realization of the metaverse is so difficult - in fact, no company can build the metaverse alone.
For what is the biggest technical gap, Intel believes that building the metaverse requires a nearly 1,000-fold increase in computing power, so for Intel, the biggest technical gap lies in computing power. And in my opinion, the most difficult technical problem is probably networking, because it is expensive and difficult to install infrastructure on a global scale, in cities and in the wild, and the most important is the challenge of humanity itself: in competing technologies Establish new standards and interoperability solutions between platforms and modify the Internet protocol suite itself.
Shell Finance: How long do you think human society will reach the Metaverse?
Matthew Ball: I think it's been decades. Take the mobile (internet) era for example. One might say it started with the birth of the first mobile phone in 1973, and one might say it started with the launch of the first digital wireless network in Norway in 1991. In 1992, we had our first smartphone; in 1999, the first mainstream mobile internet protocol (WAP) was born. In 2007, we got the first iPhone; in 2008, we had the first iPhone with 3G and an app store, and Android, and after another ten years, half of the world has mobile internet device and connect.
We can even say that the mobile era began with the rise of the Internet in the 1950s, and until now, the mobile era has not ended, in fact, it will transform into the metaverse era, rather than ushering in the "end".
so I'm not asking when the metaverse will start or when it will be reached because it's a gradual process. All potential drivers are growing every year, and 3D real-time simulation is becoming more powerful, more widely used and more important. We spend more time with virtual text for more reasons and more importance.
NVIDIA's Jen-Hsun Huang envisions a day when the metaverse will account for half of the world's economy. If this is the norm for the metaverse, I speculate that it will be achieved in the second half of this century.
"doesn't need" blockchain and NFTs to build the Metaverse
Shell Finance: In China, NFTs tend to be the most "gold" among many business activities that claim to be related to the Metaverse, in your opinion, the relationship between NFTs and the Metaverse What is the relationship?
Matthew Ball: Many people confuse blockchain, cryptography, NFTs and Web3 with the metaverse, but they are different. These technologies or design philosophies may one day be part of the foundation of the metaverse, and they may even be the best way to build a part of the metaverse.
But blockchains, cryptography, NFTs, and Web3 are not needed to build the metaverse, and it’s unclear if they will be used in the metaverse, and many executives who build the metaverse, , don’t think there is any future for these technologies.
Shell Finance: In what way do you think the metaverse will change the real world?
Matthew Ball: I can briefly say that 20% of the current world economy is digital, and the remaining 80% of the economy is mostly digitally driven. In order to build the metaverse, we are talking about radically upgrading and transforming most of the digital technology that underpins the modern world. Thus, the metaverse will lead to general changes in existing industries and cultures.
In addition, when the who, when, where, and why access computer and network resources changes, the world will change in countless ways. We often think of the big innovations in the mobile age as shrinking the computer into a pocket-sized device and moving from wired to wireless internet. It's a miracle, but it matters because who, when, where, and why accessing computers and the Internet has changed, in the same way the Metaverse changes the world.
Shell Finance: What do you think is the biggest driving force for the development of the Metaverse? Where is the greatest resistance?
Matthew Ball: "Gravity" is the greatest force. The role of 3D real-time simulation is increasing every year, solving moreThis involves not only human leisure and entertainment, but also military, medical, education, engineering and other fields. Metaverse-related technologies are proving themselves every day, including saving money, improving processes, entertaining billions, and connecting people.
Shell Finance: Do you think the realization of the metaverse in the future will be global, or will there be "multiple" metaverses due to differences in countries, languages, cultures, etc.?
Matthew Ball: The internet has been divided for decades due to regulation, and that division is growing. EU the internet is already different from the Americas, my home country Canada is adopting EU policies. And Southeast Asia, especially South Korea and Japan, are also splitting up.
Fifteen years ago, almost the major technology companies in the world were American companies. However, every year we see an increasing regionalization of the services and experiences used on the Internet. China, Korea, Japan and India are becoming increasingly unique, as are the African continent and South America. That's because the internet has become increasingly physical and personal, making it difficult for foreign companies to lead in home-grown e-commerce, ride-sharing or banking. The idea of the
metaverse means that more and more parts of our life, labor, leisure, time, consumption, wealth, happiness and relationships will be realized in the virtual world, which means we may see more Rather than less regulatory differences, based on cultural development and the importance of the Internet, we will see "individualized" government regulation applicable to different societies, and the Metaverse should provide local, regional software, content companies with more important service. So while the metaverse will be built on many of the same foundations, like the same internet protocols, I do hope that the technology and experience of the metaverse will be different in different regions.
China is most likely to produce the most comprehensive, interoperable and earliest version of the Metaverse
Shell Finance: In China, many companies such as , Tencent, and ByteDance have made relevant layouts for the Metaverse business, in your opinion , which Chinese company is closest to Metaverse?
Matthew Ball: I wrote in "The Metaverse Changes Everything" that I believe China has the most potential to produce the most comprehensive, interoperable and earliest version of the metaverse. For a long time, I thought that Tencent was closer to it than any company in the world. Its size, digital business, video game publishing business, account system, and portfolio diversity are all extraordinary. Today, no other company has penetrated deep into the physical world while building an interoperable network of digital and virtual enterprises. ByteDance is a remarkable company whose product expertise, growth and ambition continue to amaze the global tech and media worlds, and both seem poised to reach new heights in the Metaverse.
But my work as an investor, founder, and visionary leads me to believe that many of the greatest metaverse companies may not yet be known, and perhaps have not been created. At the beginning of any new era, it may be difficult to imagine who will be the leaders of tomorrow other than the current leaders, but history is full of stories of small companies - like Tencent and ByteDance, these once small companies The company will one day become a giant.
Shell Finance: There is a view in China that if the direction of scientific development focuses on the virtual world, it will affect the scientific development of the physical world. People will be immersed in the metaverse instead of actively exploring space, what do you think about that?
Matthew Ball: I'm an outdoor enthusiast. I spent two years working as a full-time forest firefighter in Canada. I spent weeks in a tent doing nothing but hiking, digging and pumping. When I finished my book in the US, I lived for two weeks in a cottage in the country with only 28kb of dial-up internet.
I think going out is very important, many technologies such as AR can have a positive effect on encouraging going out, such as the 2D museum APP makes the museum more popular, so more people will go to the museum, I do not believe that the metaverse will replace the in-person The experience of going to a football game, having a beer with friends or going for a walk.
At the same time, we have to realize that globally, most people's leisure is watching TV alone at home, and in my opinion, replacing watching TV alone with more engaging, social and immersive entertainment is a positive transformation. Additionally, many of us lack the financial or physical strength to actively explore space. For billions of people around the world, every week weSpend a dozen or more hours, not with family, or playing outside, but commuting. The metaverse will help with this, and like all technology, the metaverse is a matter of balance, and healthy living is varied and moderate. One dimension worth paying attention to in
is that metaverse simulation techniques, especially graphics computing techniques, are widely used in science today. For example, we use GPU to perform 3D simulations of matter and energy to discover new drugs and new interactions, a technology that is already being used to build safer and greener buildings.
Shell Finance: Do you think the main body of "building" the metaverse in the future is the enterprise, the government or the individual user? In your opinion, which company or organization is closest to this position?
Matthew Ball: The main driver will be the enterprise, but ultimately individual users give meaning to the metaverse in interactions, experiences and entertainment, without which the metaverse will be empty and useless. Furthermore, it is simply impossible for a few corporations to build everything the metaverse imagines, just as no corporation can build a nation on its own. But to me, the government is critical to all of the above. They will ensure that the metaverse built by businesses thrives — for users, indie developers, and society. Without it, I don't believe the metaverse could really have been built.
"The Metaverse Changes Everything" by Matthew Ball, Publisher: Zhanlu Culture / Zhejiang Education Press . Photo / Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Luo Yidan
editor Li Zheng
proofreading Liu Jun