Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt unimpressed by Mark Zuckerberg’s version of metaverse
Metaverse has been the talk of the town ever since Facebook renamed itself to Meta in a bid to focus on developing the metaverse and technologies around it. While Meta might have been the trendsetter, other companies too have tried to dip toes in this trend by launching their own version of the platform or offering technologies and services that enable users to connect with it. The list includes companies such as Microsoft, Disney, Roblox, Airtel, Samsung, HTC, MG Motor and Spotify to name a few. Needless to say that the collective opinion on metaverse and its future remains somewhat optimistic. But, not everyone agrees.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado, recently conveyed his confusion regarding metaverse when asked if the platform would affect global relations. “There’s not an agreement on what the metaverse is, even though one company has changed its name in anticipation of defining it,” Schmidt said, as reported by CNBC Make It, while referring to Facebook’s move of rebranding itself as Meta.
Talking about the concept of buying virtual land in the metaverse, Schmidt said that he isn’t concerned about buying real-estate on the platform adding that first iterations of the metaverse will revolve around gaming and digital currency.
“I’m not worried about buying large swaths of private real estate in the metaverse myself…It’s not a concern I have every day,” he added.
But this isn’t the first time
Notably, this is the first time that Schmidt has talked about Meta’s version of metaverse. While speaking with CNBC’s Squawk Box, last year, the former Google CEO remained doubtful if Meta would build the metaverse. “I look forward to excellent innovation in the metaverse,” Schmidt had said at the time.
“I’ve been waiting for about thirty years…As to whether Facebook will build that, I don’t know,” he added.
Mixed reactions on metaverse
Interestingly, the tech world has been divided about their views on the matter. While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has mocked the concept, Microsoft founder Bill Gates had made predictions about it.
“I think we’re far from disappearing into the metaverse. This sounds just kind of buzzword-y,” Musk said adding, “There’s some danger that that’s the case. But I currently am unable to see a compelling metaverse situation.” He made these comments while being interviewed by a YouTube channel The Babylon Bee.
Gates, on the other hand, in his essay titled ‘Reason for optimism after a difficult year’ on Gates Notes said that ‘metaverse will become a reality within the next two to three years.’
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