Is the Metaverse Hype? Hope? or Hell?
Is the Metaverse Hype? Hope? or Hell?
MetaYeda #9 How can we use the Metaverse to enlighten people and engage them in the fight against Darkness? Fight for Freedom?
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and the subsequent re-dedication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century B.C.E. (Source: Wikipedia).
On a deeper level, Hanukkah represents the Victory of Light over Darkness. The overcoming of the Good over the Bad. George Lucas built a "Star Wars" Multiverse empire based on that basic human premise and changed the world.
Moreover, Fear, hate, and ignorance live in Darkness. The Shamash candle shows us how we can bring light to the other candles on the menorah, empowering them to shine. (Luke Berryman for US TODAY).
How can we use the Metaverse to enlighten people and engage them in the fight against Darkness? To fight for Freedom?
Can you imagine what it's like to be disconnected from the world for a long time in captivity?
How can I encompass the experience and "feeling" of the time passing? How can I encourage you to reflect and take action?
In 2010, I created an artistic 3D interactive representation in the Metaverse to support Gilad Shalit, an Israeli solider, Journey to freedom from his captivity in Gaza.
Gamers don't Walk. We Teleport.
Well, not in this case.
I've harnessed the power of Gamers' Agency and manipulated it to give the visitors the feeling of movement constraints. Your avatar could walk in narrow maze paths. No flying nor teleporting was allowed.
The passing time in captivity was visualized by a multi-3D interactive structure that was updated daily. It contained ten meter-high 3D interactive strands, each representing a single day. The strands were lined up in columns of 30, each line representing one month of Gilad's time in captivity. Two strands represent the first and current day of Gilad's captivity, respectfully. They were lit up and glowed under the dark virtual skies, symbolizing the wishful thoughts of seeing Gilad free again. They serve as a symbol of all human beings' fundamental freedom and free will rights.
The strand rotates slowly on its axis while its strand omits to the sky yellow balloons-like particles which move east. The 3D representation was dynamic and engaged the users to support Gilad's Freedom.
More than 1000 stands were handily arranged by me, the builder and creator.
The "Gilad is STILL ALIVE" logo was used with permission of www.gilad.org inside ‘i-land’ an open source Metaverse, powered by MetaverSense Ltd.
So, what would be the next generation of the Internet: Hype? Hope? or Hell?
The Metaverse brings with it massive tectonic impacts. We must be ready for them to survive and thrive.
All the problems we encounter today on social media? In the next generation of the Internet, they will be magnified sevenfold.
The disruptive future of the Metaverse is in our hands.
Hence we should build compasses and strategies for moving in the right direction together.
These are a few notes from my upcoming invited keynote talk, 'Life in the METAVERSE: Applications, Impacts, and Trends' for the Israeli Supreme Court Judges.
My talk will start the 'On Innovation, Metaverse, and New Reality' Seminar.
First, I wish to thank Dr. Michal Shapira Head at the Marketing and Digital school, Faculty of Business Administration at Ono Academic College, Israel, and the Honorable Judge Daphna Blatman Kedar, Director of the Center for Training and Further Education of Judges, named after the Honorable Judge Yoel Zusman (R.I.P.), for the invite.
Additionally, I thank Adv. Oded Sela for his thoughtful remarks and feedback on my presentation (under final tuning).
Note I created most of my presentation photos using AI ART Engines. Still, a few exceptionally amazing photos are courtesy of the gifted and talented Yonathan Dor, founder at theDorBrothers, and my long-time virtual SecondLife friend Evo Heyning Founder at Realitycraft.
Think Fast, Level-UP Smart.
🕹Elhanan Gazit, Ph.D., is a Gaming and Metaverse Strategist, Advisor, Entrepreneur, Investor, Speaker, Lecturer, Video Games Scholar // Founder @ juloot @ MetaYeda, @ YedaVerse, Ex-Founder & CEO @ MetaverSense Ltd. GAME-ON!