By a staggering turn of events, research has forecast that the metaverse and its surrounding VR and AR technologies will one day overtake mobile phones as the primary platform for computing. That's according to a study paid for by none other than, you guessed it, Meta.
Yeah, feels a bit harder to take it seriously when the company paying for the study has so much skin in the game.
According to studies undertaken by consulting firm Deloitte (via Reuters), the metaverse has the potential to contribute around 2.4% of the United States Gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. That's up to $760 billion in cash monies. And while it may sound frankly inconceivable, that figure does encompass manufacturing, medical, and defense tech as well, rather than just your average gaming VR and augmented reality entertainment.
The Meta news article says the "United States is well positioned to harness the potential of the metaverse and lead its global development." In other words, please, please invest some more, Uncle Sam!
The article references yet more reports, which claim that the EU could see around $538.29 billion in increased economic opportunities from Meta products by the year 2035, or 1.3%–2.4% of the total GDP. As for Canada, Meta's consulting firm reckons it could contribute around $33.88 billion to the Canuck economy within the same time frame.
All together with the rest of the world, the reports claim that the global economy could reach up to $3.6 trillion per year in additional GDP by 2035, with the help of the metaverse.
In the small print, the global report (PDF) goes a step further, explaining that "This estimate does not account for population growth and therefore likely understates the metaverse's potential contribution to GDP."
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So, keep having babies and expect your spawn to be inducted, inevitably, into Zuck's all consuming metaverse. Again, these are bold claims from studies supported by the very company hoping to have a definitive global monopoly within the next twelve years.
The article goes on to note that "American companies are starting to see signs of greater operational efficiencies in areas like training employees in immersive VR, improving remote work", etc.
That's not what we heard from the current virtual office hellscape, but sure. Keep telling yourself that, Zuck.
