Oh!
Oh, wow.
What's going on with Jack?
I have no idea.
Oh, one second, Sue. The real world is calling.
Oh, hey, guys.
Sorry, I'm just in a metaverse. Where?
You know, a metaverse.
It's like our universe, but in digital form.
It's very meta.
Ah, I wonder if that's why it's called a metaverse. Mm.
And what do you do there?
Oh, well, anything you like, really.
Like, right now, I'm watching a virtual production of Les Mis.
It's very miserable, but the seats are great.
And later, I'm going to go check out a little Snoopy Dog concert.
Oh, I think you mean Snoop Dogg.
No, Snoopy, the cartoon dog.
Anyway, I'd better get back.
Intermission is almost over and I've got to take a virtual pee
and I want to get some virtual popcorn
before the second act starts.
See ya!
Well, that was virtually impossible to understand.
I can still hear you.
JACK: If you're like Liv and Nat here,
you're probably scratching your head and wondering, "What is a metaverse?"
Could I just get one small popcorn?
Actually, make it large.
Well, to be honest, it's a little hard to explain
because, according to most people, it doesn't really exist yet,
but many are calling it the next evolution of the internet.
The internet!
Yeah, it might sound like the stuff of science fiction,
and that's because it kind of is.
There have been plenty of books, TV shows and movies
that explore the idea of a metaverse.
In these works of fiction,
humans live their lives in the safety of the virtual world,
represented by avatars to digitally go to work or school, social events
and, well, everything in between and beyond.
MAN: This is the oasis.
It's a place where the limits of reality are your own imagination.
It doesn't have to mean saying goodbye to the real world either.
Some think the metaverse, rather than a whole separate thing,
will be more like an extended version of what we see
combining wearable tech and augmented reality
to interact with everyday objects and people around us.
Rory! Yeah.
And many reckon existing video games like Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite
are giving us a glimpse into what could be possible.
Fortnite, for example, hosts virtual concerts
with real-world artists
that let attendees move around to watch the show however they want.
You can even walk right up to the avatar of the artist,
something that, trust me, doesn't work in the real world.
# You like my hair?
(SINGS ALONG) # Gee, thanks, I just bought it. #
Er, as I was saying...
..we're going to have to focus...
Some big tech companies are already working on ways to make metaverses
where you can work as well as play.
Just last week, the guy behind these social media sites,
Mark Zuckerberg, rebranded the name of his company to Meta
to reflect the metaverse it plans on creating.
From now on, we're going to be metaverse first,
not Facebook first.
WOMAN: What if you can replicate that physical world?
Microsoft is also working on its own version
that they say will be an exact virtual copy
of the real world
that could be used to solve real problems
and make real changes to the real world.
But before you go grabbing your headsets, if you have one,
it could still be a while before we see a metaverse like this.
For starters, the technology is still being developed.
It's going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of power
to make one a reality.
Then there's the finer details to work out,
like who owns the metaverse?
What are the rules and who would enforce them?
How will currency work?
Are there other competing metaverses?
And will I get to meet Beyonce?
They're all important questions.
And some say there are many more important issues to solve
before we log out of the real world and into a virtual one.
Well, that's better. I couldn't see anything with this on.