Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently revealed his thoughts on two tech developments, the metaverse, and Web3, which many believe could alter the world, in a recent interview. Musk said he couldn’t think of a convincing use-case for the VR-driven metaverse, and he dismissed Web3 — a hazy notion in which internet services are rebuilt around blockchain and cryptocurrency — as “more marketing than reality,” adding, “I don’t get it.”
To begin with, Musk has stated that he may be “too old” to comprehend the new technologies that the world is enthralled with. “Am I like one of those guys who dismissed the internet [in] ’95 as some fad or something that’ll never amount to anything?” he wondered, before pointing out that he was one of the few people around in 1995 who saw the internet’s vast potential.
Everyone is talking about the “metaverse” right now; it’s turned into an over-hyped branding exercise for a collection of virtual worlds that are heavily reliant on virtual reality gear to access, which many people find uncomfortable. Critics point out that all of this technology has been tried previously at some point or another. According to records, there was a failed VR boom in the 1990s, followed by the rise of virtual worlds like Second Life in the early 2000s. What the metaverse concept offers today is primarily an improvement in hardware with a flashy and catchy new title, backed by billions of dollars from recognized and renowned world tech giants like Facebook-owned Meta, which is so keen on it and has been paraded in front of the internet users as the next big digital platform.
Another alternate vision that has been predicted to infiltrate the internet’s future is Web3. It is motivated by the idea that everyday internet users will be able to earn from their online material and activities, rather than solely gigantic internet businesses capturing the value. Despite the fact that Musk didn’t spend much time discussing Web3, he has openly expressed his criticism of the initiative on Twitter, joining fellow tech CEO Jack Dorsey. According to Dorsey’s criticism, Web3 will not democratise anything; the worst that may happen is a simple transfer of power from established incumbents such as Facebook to upstart venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz.
