Living out a fantasy in the metaverse is not cost free

The computing power required by the “metaverse”, purportedly the next stage of the internet where people can immerse themselves in digital alternative realities, will have a big impact on the climate. The computing capabilities required will be of incremental times more than the current system capabilities. As a rough comparison, Bitcoin mining consumes around 91 terawatt-hours of electricity annually. That is around 0.5% of global energy consumption worldwide and more than seven times the electricity use of Google’s global operations.

Thinking that at least a dozen tech giants are now “ramping up” infrastructure for the metaverse (everything from computing to storage and networking will need major upgrades), consumption may be many times greater than for bitcoin mining, particularly since video streaming and gaming are predicted to make up 87% of consumer internet traffic this year. In the light of global warming and related inequalities, proper studies are vital. If an avatar were to consume as much electricity as a living person in a developing country, it would test the moral senses of every metaverse wanderer, especially those living in rich countries, regarding the true costs of virtual fantasy worlds.

Besides this, the metaverse might not be decentralized and we might need to endure the rules of our makers. Who knows what that will look like as we could pay to be in certain metaverses, we could be taxed or require virtual items to be able to live in these new fantasy realms. We already see virtual assets being sold for thousands or even millions to hold a piece of the metaverse, whether is land or something built. Things might be even more expensive than in real life.

I would love to say that we can forge our new destiny in these metaverses, but the reality is that rich people will be richer and common ones will struggle to keep their avatar alive. A greater vision would be for metaverses to be decentralized and for everyone to be able to start with the same tools and assets. And to grow from here, maybe also to buy from an open market the assets of those not willing to participate in the metaverse, but simply to pay a free participant to the "game" and not a centralized entity which is handling the ropes. Will that happen or are there such dreamlands? Don't know, but it would be cool if they were!

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