Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S3W1 - The Metaverse by @nwabueze

Welcome to my post on the Metaverse and how it works

• Define your understanding of the Metaverse. What has the Metaverse aimed to achieve? Is Metaverse here entirely with us yet?

We live in a world where we can walk around, party, own properties, and interact with other people effectively and physically. The metaverse can be seen as an extension of our physical world because we can do almost everything we do in the physical world in the metaverse. The metaverse concept has been around for over 20 years but is just becoming a reality in this period of our existence. Human beings love to enjoy themselves and will go to any extent to achieve that. We live in a digital world where there are limitless opportunities for everybody through blockchain technology, NFTs, and IoT.
A futuristic world where we do not have to be physically represented all the time is something that so many people are looking forward to and with the help of powerful technology companies, we will get to experience that future. What the metaverse aims to achieve to the best of my understanding is a world of possibilities where people will be free to interact with one another effectively without distance, time, and data being barriers. There are currently ways of investing that are currently in use today but some people believe that there is a potential for investment in the Metaverse that could yield higher returns with less risk as there are no physical factors that suggest such.

The Metaverse promises a lot for the future but for now, it is mostly used for high-resolution gaming activities. For us to effectively use the metaverse, it has to provide solutions to the technological challenges confronting us today. The Metaverse suggests that we can have a virtual life besides our normal day-to-day activities but that is not yet the case. I don't feel the Metaverse has been fully explored because it is very expensive. Some of the ways we can interact with one another in the Metaverse are Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, etc. They are not cheap and for that reason, many people around the world cannot fully adopt them. Even people that can afford to do so have not seen any reason to because it is not yet a completely developed environment. A Virtua Reality headset ranges from $300 to about $3000 which means that it is too expensive to adopt for now. What makes people use technology is its affordability. The main aim of the Metaverse is to bring people around the world closer to each other and for that reason it has to be cheap. It is a virtual world - it doesn't cost us much to live normally and that is what we should look at. The Metaverse should be second nature to us.

• State the technologies that can be utilized to achieve Security, Ownership, and others in the Metaverse. In your own words, how are the technologies going to be utilized to achieve security and ownership? (Include any components of the technologies that would be of great advantage to the development of Metaverse).

Some of the technologies that can be used to improvre security in the Metaverse are Artificial Intelligence(AI) and the Blockchain. These are two very reliable ways of achieving maximum security of user data and finances. The Metaverse hasn't been in existence for a long time yet scams have started going on. Identity theft has started happening and they pose threats to the safety of users.
The use of Artificial Intelligence effectively means that we are working with a smart security system that will go to great lengths to identify and stop malicious activities from happening. The use of Artificial Intelligence will help the users to ineract with the system in a better and more efficient manner. The identification of faces, biometric sensors, voice and even to the extent of having a conversation with the AI engine. The fact that people will own actually valuable assets in the metaverse makes AI very useful. When a person tries to log into an account, they will have to answer a series of questions that will be prepared by the software. Being a programmed software, it looks our for inconsistencies in the behaviour of people who are trying to impersonate a user in the space.

Based on Blockchain the main thing we look out for is the security of transactions and assets. The Metaverse existing on a blockchain is a plus as security is always guaranteed. Security, Immutable data, and security of keys are some of the things that make the Metaverse more desirable. The Metaverse being second nature to us suggests that we would do things as though we were going about our normal lives in the real world. We will buy assets in the metaverse, we will sell, and we will communicate. The blockchain being a series of blocks of transactions that cannot be altered means that whatever transaction a person make is reliably recorded and can be referenced in case of any misunderstanding. Security of the blockchain which means that double spending is impossible suggests that the chances of cheating someone or being cheated in the Metaverse are very slim.

• Do we have any Gamification developments that look like the Metaverse? Discuss any two protocols and how they work.

Gamification refers to a system of representing real life activities with game events. In games, there are avaters, reward systems, badgee, etc. Gamification has applications in education, work, healthcare, and even sports.
Something that really motivates people to engage in gaming is the reward system and for that reason that property has been harnessed. Badge, rank, monetary rewards, and authority are some common quantities that can be identified in a gamification setting.

Gamification developments that look like the metaverse to me are Roblox and Axie Infinity. Roblox is basically a virtual space where people visit for entertainment. People have to pass through different levels as there are online games incorporated in it to help make it a more lively and interactive space. Musical concerts can be held in the space with that aid of Virtual Reality glasses, and real life environments known by everyone can be simulated on the platform.

Axie Infinity is more like a virtual space where people can almost spend the whole 24 hours of the day without getting bored. In the space, real life transactions can be done- Crypto and NFT. Properties can be bought and users can engage with one another. There are incentives to be the most reliable vendor, non-abusive, and friendly.

• What are the Pros and Cons of Metaverse? Do you believe in the future of the Metaverse? Discuss.

There is no doubt that the metaverse is a good space but that doesn't mean it is completely off the hook.

Some of the pros of the metaverse are;

Better access to education- by better access to education I mean very high quality education. We know the difference between learning theoretically and practically. The metaverse presents us with the opportunity of getting to see very wonderful things first hand. Imagine a particle accelerator- a setting like that would be very difficult to access in real life but with metaverse, children of all ages will be able to see it work in real time.

Distance becoming a thing of the past- if peope are able to interact with one another in a very convenient and realistic way, without leaving their homes, then we have no need to be in most places physically. Burning of fossil fuels is a problem, but with the metaverse the number of people using vehicles will reduce drastically and that is a plus to our climate.

Culture- the fact that people from different parts of the world can get in contact and share ideas in real time is a huge game changer. There are some people, that by virtue of where they are located on the map, people often misunderstand them. We will get to know people for who the really are and understand how we can grow collectively.

Some of the cons are;

Cybercrime- human beings will always engage in cyber crime at the slightest opportunity the get. The fact that the metaverse is vast and emersive even provides people with evil intentions the tools to carry out malicious activities. People will be taken advantage of no matter their age.

Addiction; the metaverse is so good that people will almost live their lives there. Given enough time a lot of people will get out of touch with reality and that won't be good for our population. People may begin to lose basic communication skills that are required in the real world.

Abuse; although most platforms in the metaverse have age restrictions, younger people still find their way in. Little boys and girls could be abused sexually and that could damage them emotionally.

The mataverse has proven to be a potential solution to many of the problems confronting humanity today. Althoung some people believe that we over estimate what the metaverse have to offer, I still feel it's worth it. Communication and other societal challenges are almost overwhelming us and we have to act very fast. Accepting a new technology is usually difficult at first, but with time, we will embrace it.

Conclusion

The metaverse is a genius idea that looks to solve many of our problems. Education is really important and we have to change our approach towards it. The way people were learning 100 years ago shouldn't be the same as now. We have the capacity to do more with the metaverse and gamification, surely we will take our chance.