Meta, Others Shift Focus from Metaverse to AI Development

News Desk

Islamabad: Metaverse is the biggest casualty of generative AI ‘frenzy’ due to the overall tech sector’s shift to the development of AI.

Even Meta which has invested billions is shifting its focus on AI. Some analysts interpreted this as the start of Meta’s back-paddling from the metaverse project.

There are several reasons behind this, firstly some reports suggest that the VR market is shrinking, and other reports say that Meta’s flagship social VR app Horizon Worlds is failing to attract users.

However, the main reason behind the ‘failure’ or slow adoption of the metaverse concept is the lack of infrastructure – mainly quality internet connection (think of 5G), AI chips that can support this vision and affordability of devices and computing power.

In 2023, besides AI breakthroughs that will serve as the foundation of this concept, here are other interesting developments that will shape the future of metaverse.

Apple in mid-2023 launched its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world.

The headset is designed to cater to both virtual and augmented reality experiences, and it allows users to switch between AR and VR. Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses gained the most media attention.

These smart glasses are the next-generation wearable tech device that integrates AI technology, making them more intelligent than previous models and introducing many other new features.

1st ITU Forum on Embracing the metaverse took place on 7 March 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and begin ITU’s endeavour to promote metaverse pre-standardisation initiatives.

The forum’s objective is to facilitate global dialogue on the metaverse, provide inputs, and discuss relevant topics that can aid the work of the newly established ITU Focus Group on metaverse.

ITU Focus Group on metaverse which was established in late 2022 held its first meeting in March 2023. ITU focus group aims to develop a roadmap for setting technical standards to make metaverse services and applications interoperable, enable a high-quality user experience, ensure security, and protect personal data.

The European Commission has adopted a strategy for Web 4.0 and virtual worlds. The EU strategy aims to steer the next technological transition and ensure an open, secure, trustworthy, fair, and inclusive digital environment.

The strategy aims to empower people and reinforce skills, support a European Web 4.0 industrial ecosystem, promote virtual public services, and shape global standards for open and interoperable virtual worlds.

The Commission believes a Web 4.0 will be the next generation of the internet infrastructure that will allow integration between digital and real objects and environments

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) revealed plans to create a working group dedicated to defining standards for the metaverse.

This initiative aims to expedite the process of standardizing the concept of the metaverse.

MIIT emphasized the importance of keeping pace with global advancements in this field to maintain alignment with international developments.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given the green light to a new class of very low-power devices, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets, to utilise the 6 GHz.

This development is expected to have a tangible impact on the technology market by enabling faster data transfers and minimizing interference.

For several years, major tech companies, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Meta, have been advocating for access to the 6GHz band.