What’s the next step of the digital transformation in business and society? That question is at the core of this engrossing DLD Munich session, which brings together Andrew McAfee (MIT Sloan School of Business), Ken Moore (Mastercard), Mark Rolston (argodesign) and moderator Ina Fried (Axios).
The full version of the metaverse will probably take years to arrive “but pieces of it are being developed right now”, Ina Fried observes. “We all agree it’s coming, right?”
Not quite. While Moore and Rolston nod their heads, McAfee deadpans, “It reminds me of nuclear fusion in the energy domain. Nuclear fusion has been 20 years away for the past 60 years. The metaverse has been 5 years away for the past 25 years.”
Social awkwardness is a hindrance, Fried admits. “Most of the time I don’t see a lot of benefit in walking around with a pair of glasses that’s going to creep out my friends.”
But there are many use cases – particularly in business settings – where adding a data layer on top of the physical world could be truly useful, all panelists agree.
“Generalized computing has given us abstract access to the world”, Rolston notes, expanding on his separate talk about the metaverse and the “next pattern of computing”.
“But there are so many instances where computing can offer value in that moment when I’m standing in front of the patient, when I’m on the factory floor [or] walking walking down the hotel hallway trying to figure out which rooms need to be cleaned.”
The discussion also touches on data privacy, cryptocurrencies and entertainment.
