Citizens Prerogative Podcast Closed Caption Transcript
S3 E49 Metaverse of a Time

16:16:47 In times like these being a citizen is a big job. Thank you for joining us to celebrate the virtues of self-rule and debate the state of our Republic.
16:16:55 Our welcome to the citizen's prerogative podcast this is the voice of your nerdy host, Michael Biscatelli, and we are inspired by a co-host.
16:17:04 Whose passion for our Republic precedes him. Everywhere he goes.
16:17:06 Raymond Wong, Jr. thank you thank you and I want you to know I'm.
16:17:17 Completely naked in the metverse this is episode number 49 we're in season 3, and we are going to be having a metaverse of a time.
16:17:32 Let's go through a little bit of what we think we're gonna talk about today.
16:17:35 It's gonna be all about the metverse but all the little high topic top of a list type items because we've never gone in to review for this.
16:17:49 That's right I don't know i'm tired i'm like That's a weird ever this is like the old way we used to do like darling we just flown into it, and I was ready to pick up
16:18:18 what does the finger mean by the way that's a sound there's a sounds I don't know if you could hear it.
16:18:29 But there was a you point your ear first like, do you hear?
16:18:40 Oh, God, Okay, Okay, get the get close out. Oh, my face feels good.
16:18:50 That was good. So I think I ended up on there's no playing back a metaverse.
16:18:56 We're gonna have a medverse of a time so what are we gonna be talking about today?
16:19:05 I would I would like to clarify my last statement.
16:19:09 Okay, I am a robot in the metaverse. So technically I have no clothes for all intensive purposes.
16:19:16 I naked, but that's the that's about the Meta. You can be what you want to be okay.
16:19:24 I follow you. Now you're talking about your avatar i'm not yeah, like Well, I mean what did you think I was talking about that? I'm just out there crazy I mean the meta-verse is wild I want to be very
16:19:34 clear about that. but it's not that wild the people that are putting the metverse into play.
16:19:39 Have been doing this Internet thing for some time so they've got lots of filters and things.
16:19:44 So genuinely if I had a mission to be human level naked.
16:19:51 It just wouldn't be possible let's talk a little bit about that.
16:19:53 So far it's been a relatively safe experience out there in the meta-verse.
16:19:59 So I don't know what your interpretation of so when I when I ask you, Michael, we've been talking a lot about this, and I've been in there for for our efforts and such.
16:20:07 But what do you imagine? like just people running around? do you imagine naked robots now?
16:20:12 Because what i've said, Yeah, thanks for asking the question I really have a hard time imagining what the metaverse necessarily is like from a literal perspective.
16:20:26 I Hadn't really considered about what things look like haven't really thought about.
16:20:31 You know what with the experience, would be, look like looking like.
16:20:37 What I have thought about is maybe all the different things that will be out there, because I haven't dived in so ray like you mentioned.
16:20:46 You've got the headset you've gone all the way We're going to talk about you know everything from your experience today.
16:20:51 Thank you for already sharing some of it. and then, you know, just going into some action Items like like we normally do so Raise can tell us a little bit about his experience from the inside.
16:21:04 I thank you for asking me the question. so I can share a little bit about what i'm thinking about from the outside you, and hopefully, somewhere in between it'll give everyone a better picture better view to triangulate against that was a
16:21:18 long-winded way to get back to answering your question. But i'm excited about all the possibilities for not just gaming and other things that might happen in there, but for experiences that can't be created, but would
16:21:34 really be beneficial for humans which we is a lot of things.
16:21:38 Science has already been using them. for, like psychology and things like that.
16:21:43 If a lot of people can enter the man verse and I imagine it being like the holiday right, it's the holiday.
16:21:51 But it's wrapped and attached to your face today.
16:21:55 Maybe someday it'll be like the holiday and i'm referring some technology that was on Star Trek.
16:21:58 The next generation and subsequent, probably series. But in any case it was immersive world.
16:22:05 That is all program driven right? So anything you can imagine can be programmed and you get to experience it. But they would get to enter an environment today with Vr.
16:22:13 We wrap it around our eyes, and then I imagine the future is all going to be all kinds of sensors.
16:22:19 We can hook up to to help make that environment seem more real to our brain.
16:22:27 But yeah, why not learning? Why not games? Why, not you know people having access to their own areas, their own platforms to make their own environments that they want to experience almost like art?
16:22:42 I don't know I appreciate your insight and it actually for not being in there.
16:22:48 That was pretty astute for the future. because i'll say that most people in the meta-verse are wandering around, and they have the same feelings.
16:22:56 They don't know exactly what this is all about they don't know what they're going to do there, or what their purpose is, and a lot of people are soul-searching or virtually soul-searching to understand
16:23:09 what what this means to them, what it means to their family, what it means to interactions and such.
16:23:14 And I think what's important. is that my experience has been it is so new, and there's so much unknown that you also have a lot of rumor mill right?
16:23:25 We're very susceptible. in our society so very quickly you could tell people were very susceptible to buzz rumors, etc.
16:23:34 So the experience i'm seeing, is similar to social media in regards to that that captivated audience. If you will.
16:23:47 The other part of this. You know what what I get to is is kind of who who's out there?
16:23:52 Right. So I want to stress that it's kind of all over the Board. what's happening is there is a huge group of business individuals, consultants, people that are being put in there from their companies to understand and explore the metverse and
16:24:06 see the option. So there are consultants in there right then.
16:24:10 You have a large sect of parents who purchase this device for their children.
16:24:16 And now they're using it because their children just were not interested. And the reason why is because it is not set up to the level that people would experience would expect. I think everyone, if they think about virtual reality.
16:24:30 And what the standard is it's a it's a movie called Ready Player.
16:24:32 One or a book for those of you that are astute and the the ready player.
16:24:38 One scenario is kind of the model that they're trying to go, for now it's just it's not there yet.
16:24:44 But what you see is everyone in there trying to understand it so what i'd say, is it's full of noobs for all of you, Gamer gamer terms and such it's really and a wild wild West and that's
16:24:56 how we all kind of think of it because there's really no rhyme, reason, explanation in some ways. there's no rules except for your own self-policing of the environment.
16:25:09 And such, and and I don't know if that raises any questions, or even even Segways, from what your thoughts of what this place is.
16:25:14 It's just like being in a real city it's just that no one could hurt you.
16:25:19 Yeah, yeah, thanks for that segue, because that's kind of what I was thinking about.
16:25:24 I was thinking about. now. the social aspects of it you know there's a couple of stories you've told me, you know, during our conversations that have beaked my curiosity about people seeking connectedness out there especially because we're
16:25:43 coming out of covid and everything like that and there's a lot of isolation going on, and it's safe.
16:25:48 It's it's safer I mean I think back to people getting excited about online chat and stuff like that.
16:25:53 But most people would use that to connect to friends. They already had not a lot of people necessarily made a ton of new friends this through chat, unless it was like a room.
16:26:03 And I see this, these Vr environments as like big chat rooms right with the Avatars.
16:26:10 And so random people are getting to interact and maybe there's something going on that's drawing them there.
16:26:15 Or maybe it is randomness, right for for whatever purpose is and maybe new connections are being made because we've been so isolated socially, and and the possibilities are really interesting. Right?
16:26:28 You spend money, and you put this at you have this headset, you.
16:26:32 You spend the money one time and then there's all these worlds, environments, events that and activities, and people you gain access to without necessarily even spending more money.
16:26:43 But you you can keep me honest. on that I mean let's, you know, going going down that path, and just before we go too far down this new rabbit hole.
16:26:52 I want to talk about the connectness connected in this because you you sparked a thought.
16:27:00 There was a farmer. It was shocking to me, right because it speaks.
16:27:02 It speaks to the problems in our country, and why we have this kind of disdain.
16:27:06 But there was a farmer who had not had Internet his whole life as essentially he only had Internet within the last 2 years, and having that Internet enabled him to get an oculus, and he was able to use this Oculus And
16:27:19 he literally broke down, crying just because he never had friends.
16:27:24 He never had time for friends. He just has time for the field, but the Oculus allows him go into the city like we were talking about Mike.
16:27:34 So in a sense it's not even about money sometimes it's just about time as a farmer there is no time to drive the 3 or 4 h into the city after you've done your work for the day so this literally allowed him
16:27:46 to expand his horizons, make connections, and essentially make friends.
16:27:51 And I think that is the golden moment I think of our senior citizens who could be utilizing this technology.
16:27:56 Those that are no longer mobile and here's the bottom line that i'll drop one more egg here.
16:28:02 Why, I believe it's going to be successful is because There's not enough capacity There's not enough dinosaur blood left in the earth to let everyone in the world be travel the world. There's just not the capacity we don't have the
16:28:15 ships, or the planes for it, nor do we have the fuel it doesn't seem attainable, right, so there needs to be a middle ground it for the human race to connect and explore and satisfy that need to to go beyond their
16:28:29 boundaries. Right? that is, that is a human need. The Vr.
16:28:33 Answers it there's no way all 8,000,000,000 people can travel it just it just will never work in this world.
16:28:41 So. so i'll back up there from my kind of my high horse on that, and say, you know what thoughts does that invite.
16:28:51 It's amazing because I mean you're we spend a lot of time talking about the United States that's our focus.
16:28:56 But when you talk about global challenge of that no there's no way. there's never any way we were gonna have capacity for everyone in the world to be able to travel. the way, a few do enjoy it right Oh, Wow!
16:29:12 So here you go Here's the better alternative from so many perspectives right?
16:29:20 And it's safer, too, I mean I think about the surrogates.
16:29:22 That was a Sci-fi movie. I think it was starring.
16:29:26 Bruce willis I don't remember who else was in it. but the long story short of that one was is everybody stayed at home, and they hooked into the Internet, but they would actually send a robot out as a
16:29:36 surrogate in the real world on their behalf, which, of course, was safer for them because they're actually at home hooked up the Internet.
16:29:44 And he anyway, I digress. So this idea that yeah this that's a powerful story.
16:29:51 So you know we we need food. We need farmers and a lot of the things that we put forward our ideas that might actually make more of us become farmers, and we we wouldn't want to propose people from being disconnected
16:30:07 So I think it's really important we extend the Internet to everyone.
16:30:13 I think this is actually the kind of equalizer in that sense being able to create that opera just the opportunity for that social connectedness that wouldn't otherwise happen.
16:30:23 I just see lots of possibility. I mean, you could create a much stronger sense of unity, national unity, and framework If we had some virtual spaces.
16:30:32 We were all able to go habitate and get to know one another right.
16:30:38 Fascinating. I don't know my my my brain is a light with ideas, right?
16:30:47 The challenges like the workplace I mean i've been That's where my brain has been is like.
16:30:52 What is the What is the future? Now, People can work, you know. individuals who were not mobile didn't have the ability to get into an office can now work in a storefront Virtually you know individuals that would be unable?
16:31:05 To do retail work essentially now become a central part customer service.
16:31:11 Delivered virtually instead of you know. So you get that you get back to brick and mortar without brick and mortar.
16:31:22 Kind of scares me too, you know with all things balance is required, and i'm sure we'll make opportunities to talk about that today.
16:31:33 We are not talking about how to live a Well, Well, live life today.
16:31:40 We're talking about the universe right so okay I mean like So So just getting to like what's going on right there.
16:31:48 So What's out there games is mostly what it is right there's a connectivity for gaming and frankly for most gamers.
16:31:54 It's it's it's it's wonderful because how often do we spend time setting up the game getting ready waiting for the third party right a way to waiting for the fourth party?
16:32:05 So now you just run around a virtual world together. and act like fools until the game's ready to get going right, and you can all travel together, and and that's what's being built out a lot of the the things that you
16:32:15 know, Facebook is spending or Meta is losing tons of money is investing in these platforms.
16:32:22 So you can build any game you want right so if you want a game that we can jump around off a cliff and see who can jump faster off a cliff like a really simple dumb game. it works you can build it in the
16:32:34 metaverse, because they've made these flexible tools for you. So it is totally gaming.
16:32:39 It is totally focused on on that piece. however, Microsoft just announced that they're going to be expanding their metverse piece into the office.
16:32:48 So they're gonna make it part of virtual meetings and interactions.
16:32:52 It's gonna be their office suite how they're going to basically enhance interactions.
16:32:56 So the the meta-verse piece that exists called Alt Space is going to be expanded into the office space.
16:33:04 If Microsoft has their way and so far their collaboration tools are taken over, so we'll continue to see you know anyone that's doubted them thus far, So the other piece is you know, outside of games there's a lot
16:33:16 of other things, like museums, art galleries, other things showing up.
16:33:20 But you had an interesting question about me, you know Universities right?
16:33:25 And you actually looked into that Mike So that's one that intrigues me as well.
16:33:28 School. It's so expensive, maybe if We did It here it wouldn't be $80,000 a year.
16:33:34 It's a it is a fascinating proposition and it was interesting.
16:33:40 I haven't dug into of the article or taken the article to task, so to speak.
16:33:47 But in any case I did come across this headline an idea that I think it was positioned as to why the Meta-verse was not ready potentially to take on university study.
16:33:58 Meaning, you know. could you university students attend a class in the minerals?
16:34:05 Pretty simple, I think. question to put forth, and I think the very simple answer is, yes.
16:34:13 Now the whole point of this article I was reading was dark you then it's not ready, or that there's some challenges with that being feasible.
16:34:25 So i'm gonna you know i'm gonna give it another read a look over, Do my own additional research, and i'll i'll be coming back with some of the arguments, and as to why that's a bunk because quite
16:34:37 Frankly, if I think about first of all the vr headset, you know it's pretty isolating today.
16:34:47 At least that experience. So you put on your vr headset and you don't see anything in the real world.
16:34:52 You are now in the metaverse, and you know, if you log into your classroom, you you know.
16:34:57 Maybe they make it so you, can't leave you have to actually take your headset off, or something you can't, or if you do, leave the professor knows about it, or so you're either in class today.
16:35:07 In real life or not, this classroom is going to exist at a particular address in the manaiverse, and people are going to be expected to show up or not.
16:35:13 So you know, attendance would be automated. You could deliver.
16:35:17 You could deliver lectures beyond both. Now, none of the current university professors, outside of those it who study this type of stuff, computer, science, etc.
16:35:29 Would even imagine a lecture hall where they can animate everything that they're talking about and bring you through things in real time. and imagine learning biology by being able to zoom into cells and interact with the parts of cells like I can
16:35:43 only imagine incredible possibilities for learning potential for the meta-verse.
16:35:52 So because you have so much control over the environment that you experience.
16:35:55 So I like, I said i'll go back through the article and see why it can't be done.
16:35:59 But I am very skeptical. Maybe it it is.
16:36:04 It is hard for the for me to imagine why the metaverse wouldn't be successful.
16:36:14 Just, not even just the comments I made before, but just because how expensive everything is the current economy, because we are still citizens prerogative.
16:36:23 So our current citizen situation is that the cheap products from other nations allow us to live the lives we do today, and in the future there's there may not be a cheap option if equality cascades like it should across
16:36:40 the world. So what it means is we all will have to have less physical, maybe a little more, Meta, and that's that's a shift.
16:36:48 We've all started to make right How Many of you have Dvds in blue rays anymore.
16:36:53 I mean, are we all digital we're already moving towards this digital Meta space? right?
16:37:01 So I mean give up the physical because it's wasteful and on that note time for a message from our sponsor.
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16:38:48 Here even before they came I was kind of thinking what's going to be big.
16:38:55 What's going to be so different right because that's what happened last history repeats itself.
16:39:01 It's been a 100 years what's going to really change and and I think we're seeing it and I really I worry because there's a lot of people that are resistant to this the new environment.
16:39:12 Right. but if you hear about these nfts right money being made around nfts, it's all tied into the same thing.
16:39:19 The metaverse. And this digital space where you own these digital products, etc., is coming. And in the Internet.
16:39:28 If you think about, sit back and you say, Oh, I should have known.
16:39:32 Yeah, I should have invested in Google. I should have invested in apple.
16:39:35 I should have invested in all these and again we don't give investment advice here. But what i'm saying is those of you that had the feeling of I should have got involved.
16:39:44 I do believe we're at the critical junction with this new product.
16:39:48 It is completely, it's it's at another level and the collaboration between major corporations is like unlike anything we've ever seen.
16:39:56 So it's going to be I think I believe revolutionary I don't know who the winners will be, but what I do know is early adopters, as usual, are always going to be the winners.
16:40:07 When it comes to. You know the the foundation of building this thing out.
16:40:14 Now that that's right, even from from my Outsiders perspective, I have to agree.
16:40:21 This is this is as fundamental as the birth of the Internet, you know.
16:40:26 And so anybody who is with it, or even the emergence of the Internet, maybe not its birth.
16:40:32 Most of us weren't there when it was born but many of us were there when it showed up on our Pcs.
16:40:36 When start showing up on our computers, and it was really accessible.
16:40:40 That is the same kind of point in time, and and the type of explosion that can happen like.
16:40:46 Not everybody could envision all the possibilities that this technology is going to unlock.
16:40:54 Speaking of. let's just take a little quick step back you mentioned nfts.
16:41:01 Also think we talked a lot about intermittently like vr headsets, and we're saying meta-verse.
16:41:08 And we're using all this terminology and it's not for no reason.
16:41:13 So you know, I just wanted to find the maniverse a little bit for folks, because and anybody feel free to school me on this.
16:41:21 But essentially the meta-verse is the online experience that's built on top of web.
16:41:26 3. If you Haven't heard web 3 that basically is trying to differentiate itself from the current Internet, we log on to today, https go and forward slash, you know whatever that's web 2 and mobile came but web
16:41:41 3 is fundamentally different because of the blockchain technology and we've done. We've done a few other episodes, and i'll make sure we link back to those but we've talked about blockchain in the past
16:41:51 we've talked about crypto this is another iteration.
16:41:58 This is another spin on the possibilities that are unleashed.
16:42:01 When you build things with blockchains so it's it's the meta-verse because it it can't just be plain old Vr.
16:42:08 It's it. It is married to this online ecosystem, this online Internet.
16:42:17 So normally today. if you just plain, regular plain old vr you're probably just playing a game that's on your local playstation.
16:42:25 Maybe the playstation network allows you to play a game with other people on the playstation network.
16:42:31 The meta-verse is the is the Internet it's built on the Internet.
16:42:37 And so it's interesting, because that's what also makes it fundamentally different than Meta
16:42:43 The parent company of Facebook that is like America online it's its own kind of thing.
16:42:49 But it has as a feature. it wants to help make the metaverse easier to access, because imagine the meta-verse is really maybe the earth.
16:43:01 And on earth You have streets to walk to stores, and when you walk into a store you have a credit card.
16:43:06 You have a wallet, You know there are things about how you interact in real life that are being replicated in the meta-verse.
16:43:13 And Facebook Meta is a trying to be a component of that foundation.
16:43:20 And Ray, Do you want to jump in there because this is experiential territory?
16:43:24 Now they're not just trying to you know, be in they want to own the whole thing. And and there's a there's a huge debate, because, as I understand, you know, basic Facebook setup is not traditional web 3 like we
16:43:40 would like to see right. it's not as open so as I understand it.
16:43:46 This is not a perfect space it's like it's like there's still it's ioa ii right.
16:43:51 If you've seen the movie of a ready player one the the corporation is is involved right?
16:44:00 And there are individuals involved and we're all in this huge world that's interconnected and it gets more complex in that, because you can take these headset devices and connect them to your Pc.
16:44:08 And go to worlds that are not even connected to Facebook. Right?
16:44:14 So you can go outside of those worlds using headset technology.
16:44:20 So you're not limited and that's a key thing right? We should probably talk about how to explore right?
16:44:24 Because Facebook is not the only one with a headset. In fact, there are a rumored and future headsets coming out across the board.
16:44:33 Even apple is rumored to be releasing one and that's that's a big that's a big deal, because that's cross-platform bad news on the sony front and since you brought it up they're not
16:44:42 joining the Metaverse, as it is currently that's a big boo, and probably a wrong move.
16:44:49 I think it's short-sighted on their site. but oh, Sony, my sony Fans, might come after us.
16:44:55 But please subscribe if you do, all right. And we also have, you know, used headsets are a big thing.
16:45:00 Okay, A lot of people purchase these oculus headsets for the kids, and it's not really ready for the kids.
16:45:06 In fact, because you you you need social skills. you need dynamic.
16:45:10 You need a purpose to be on there. there's not enough, games So these used headsets are available in mass out there thinking about you know how to get in to get into it.
16:45:21 Just a heads up, though I think oculus one is being phased out.
16:45:25 So Facebook is pushing that one or Meta is pushing that one out.
16:45:31 Their current product is oculus to quest something like that.
16:45:35 Yeah, the oculus to the question is is the primary and that it's just, and even that one struggling, you know, there's reports that it's getting hot, because it's just a lot of demand on the on the
16:45:47 processor and such and the unit. But there's more technology, I just want to clarify something you talked about teachers and classrooms emotions.
16:45:56 I want to put point out that there are companies developed being haptic gloves and body suits where you can fill everything.
16:46:04 They use actual bubbles? that are filled with air and you know you wonder why facebook's dumping tons of money in here?
16:46:12 They're buying these companies these these haptic glove companies there's companies that detect your legs, you sensors, so they can get full body movement and orientation.
16:46:24 Now. So all the technology is is coming that's going to make these even better and more immersive.
16:46:31 So like you said early on in this conversation to trick your mind into thinking you're there.
16:46:38 That's incredible engine wearing a body suit you know with the Vr.
16:46:46 Headset you could be laying, rolling around in grass.
16:46:49 You go for a swim or something you know in a way I mean you have to be suspended.
16:46:54 I guess you'd be you have to be suspended of something.
16:46:57 But anyway, I digress that's incredible all right so a little bit of movement into calls to action there.
16:47:07 So for people who are looking for ways to get into this thing.
16:47:09 We we mentioned that Meta has a headset Facebook there's some alternative headets as well.
16:47:15 But I think those you probably have to hook up to a Pc.
16:47:21 Or something like that to operate them. Ray, you were mentioning.
16:47:25 Anybody could get there without a headset. right right like they they are making them available on mobile phones.
16:47:33 It's a big move, and you can also make your mobile phone a headset.
16:47:38 If you look on the Internet there are templates you can download to, you know. create a little box that goes on your head, and then you drop your phone into it and you can use your phone as a vr headset.
16:47:48 So it is accessible. But some of these apps are available there, and and some of these apps are being developed right.
16:47:55 There are apps out there that you can get to from your Pc.
16:47:58 Play to Earn Apps. actually so you actually have the ability to earn money on some apps, and they're just not available visually on the Vr.
16:48:07 Because that's huge development right so some companies are actually having you play the game on your Pc.
16:48:12 Initially earned a play. and eventually it'll be moved to that full immersion experience.
16:48:17 So you can get involved all over the place just just yeah, you know.
16:48:24 Or And lastly, right, Michael, stick with us subscribe with us because, as we dig in, we're always gonna keep you along with our journey.
16:48:32 That's for sure I think that's going to be a rap. We have been your hosts thank you to Mr.
16:48:51 Raymond Wong, Jr. Thank you, Mr. Piscatelli.
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