Is The Metaverse Dead? (With Dr. Louis Rosenberg) Ep #102

In this podcast’s previous incarnation, VR and AR were discussed numerous times, especially as the podcast ran through the entire pandemic period and remote work and the future of collaboration was top of mind for many. In late 2021 however, with Facebook’s rebrand to Meta and their new focus shifting to more emerging horizons, The Metaverse became front and centre for many discussions. Most apparently, many asked what exactly is the metaverse, how will it work, who will own it etc etc. But, over the last year with Facebook tying their brand to the metaverse and in many people's mind the two becoming synonymous, when, let’s say hiccups in the quality, direction, and functionality of Facebook’s vision became apparent many of the previous questions asked turned into one, namely is the Metaverse already dead? To discuss the current and future viability of the Metaverse, and what it might mean for all of us if it comes to be, is my guest Dr Louis Rosenberg. 

About The Guest:
Louis is an early pioneer in the fields of virtual and augmented reality. His work began over thirty years ago in labs at Stanford and NASA where he worked on early VR vision systems. In 1992 he developed the first functional mixed reality system at Air Force Research Laboratory. In 1993 he founded the early virtual reality company Immersion Corporation which is still around today. In 2004 he founded the early augmented reality company Outland Research. He received his PhD from Stanford University, was a tenured professor at California State University, and has been awarded over 300 patents for VR, AR, and AI technologies. He's currently CEO of Unanimous AI.

Timecodes: 

00:00:46 - Introduction   
00:03:25 - Interview Begins   
00:07:31 - How the Dotcom crash created a metaverse 'winter'   
00:10:02 - What is the Metaverse?   
00:15:55 - Technical barriers and challenges   
00:24:39 - Negative impacts of a functional metaverse   
00:38:50 - An open source metaverse?   
00:49:05 - Policy needs for the future of the metaverse   
00:52:07 - The Responsible Metaverse Alliance   
00:54:27 - Get in touch with louis   
00:56:59 - How to support the podcast

Sources and Links: 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-rosenberg-025851132/

Venturebeat articles: https://venturebeat.com/author/louis-rosenberg-unanimous-a-i/

Big Think Articles: https://bigthink.com/people/louis-rosenberg/

Responsible metaverse Alliance: https://responsiblemetaverse.org/

XR Safety Initiative: https://xrsi.org/

Metaverse Safety Week: https://metaversesafetyweek.org/