詹姆斯·琼斯 刘安琪

There are quite a few ways hypothe-sized as to how the metaverse is likely to change the world in the very near future. Some of these forecasts seem like science fiction now， but so did almost every modern invention at one point.

1. The rise of digital “real estate”

Since 1985， companies and individuals have been purchasing web domains. People then build their 2D websites at the domains that they purchased. So how will the metaverse change this concept？

In the near future， companies will be （and are already） purchasing real estate in the metaverse; some real estate in the metaverse is actually being sold for millions of dollars right now. Many people buy “real estate” in the metaverse as an investment to sit on1.

Buyers are basically investing in the future of that particular metaverse， like investing in a particular cryptocurrency2. This can be compared to in the real world， when people buy real estate in areas and cities that they believe are going to prosper.

Just like in real life， some “landowners” will construct things on their “land”， some will rent out their land/buildings to tenants or advertisers. Many of these plots of land will sell products; some will actually have “physical” stores that people can “teleport” to and shop.

2. E-commerce will merge with brick-and-mortar3

In the last few decades， e-commerce has risen at high velocity. Notably， in the last few years， e-commerce has absolutely exploded in popularity. During COVID-19 lockdowns especially， its hard to imagine not being able to purchase things online. In June 2020， online E-commerce websites worldwide experienced 22 billion visits within 30 days.

As a cross between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shopping， companies will construct their “physical” stores in the metaverse. Alternatively， they may pay developers （kind of like “construction workers”） to create their stores for them. “Real estate” in popular areas of the metaverse that get a lot of traffic （inside “marketplaces”， “malls” or “city centers”） will obviously be more expensive.

In the near future， from the comfort of your home， you will be able to enter into one of the tens of millions of different “physical” stores in the metaverse. Youll be greeted by either a 3D AI or an actual human employee represented by their unique avatar （who will probably be adorning clothes and accessories that they themself have purchased）.

From there， youll be able to “walk” around the store and look at displays and mannequins4 showing off different products. Youll be able to demo5 and purchase products of all types that will be shipped to you in the real world. Alternatively， many of the products that these stores sell （clothes for your avatar， art， land， vehicles， buildings etc） will exist only as possessions in the metaverse; these could be NFTs6.89D40A26-8A7C-46A3-97DB-8B5B526BF797

3. Cryptocurrency will rule the metaverse

The easiest， most convenient and cheapest way to go on an international metaverse shopping spree will be to use cryptocurrency. You can spend your crypto at whichever store you go to， regardless of which country that company is based in. With cryptocurrency， you wont lose anything to international conversation fees or transaction fees， and most stores in the metaverse will accept all major cryptocurrencies.

Each major metaverse now has its own native cryptocurrency thats used to purchase any and everything within that specific metaverse. As another investment opportunity， the value of each metaverses cryptocurrency fluctuates accordingly in relation to the popularity of that specific metaverse. The more that that metaverse grows， the more your crypto within that metaverse will be worth.

4. Advertising will move aggressively into the metaverse

In the metaverse， advertisements will be seen on buildings， streets and billboards， as well as at popular events such as premieres or concerts.

Advertisements could be for products that only exist in the real world， or for products that only exist in the metaverse.

As well， corporations will insert “physical” buildings into the metaverse that resemble their real-life buildings. The function of these will be to not only get people thinking about their products but to also have people be able to purchase products from their metaverse locations （like buying from their websites）.

5. Concerts & events with unlimited capacity and unreal special effects

Travis Scott7， Ariana Grande8， Justin Bieber9 and Marshmello10 are among artists who have already performed concerts with record-breaking “attendances” in the metaverse.

In the metaverse， a performers avatar can be made to look larger than life. As well， during a metaverse concert， crazy stuff can happen such as being whisked up to fly through space with the performer， or having the world explode and disintegrate around you.

In the near future， advanced graphics technology and perfected virtual reality headsets complete with 9.2 surround sound （or better） will have people feeling like they are truly at a real-life concert. Not only will you be able to hear the live music crystal clear， but youll also be able to chat with， dance with， and sing with your friends and strangers “next to” you.

6. On-the-job training inside the metaverse89D40A26-8A7C-46A3-97DB-8B5B526BF797

For decades， pilots and astronauts have been training using virtual simulators， as simulators are obviously much cheaper and safer than training through real situations.

With the development of various true-to-life simulations in the metaverse， employees of most hands-on11 industries （especially industries involving heavy machinery and many different complex pieces of equipment） will be able to benefit immensely from training in the metaverse.

If realistic enough simulations are developed， then the metaverse has the potential to safely， cheaply and easily provide people with firsthand “on-the-job” training， including situations involving emergencies.

Almost all types of jobs could benefit from training in the metaverse. However， this type of experiential training could especially be beneficial for industrial workers， construction workers， medical workers， police， firefighters， pilots， or any other profession that is liable to be exposed to dangerous situations.

关于元宇宙在不久的将来可能如何改变世界，人们做了相当多的假设。其中一些预测现在看起来像科幻小说，但几乎所有的现代发明都曾如此。

1. 数字“房地产”兴起

1985年以来一直有公司和个人购买网域，然后在所购买的网域创建自己的2D网站。那么，元宇宙将如何改变这一观念呢？

在不久的将来，各个公司将会（有的已經）在元宇宙购买房地产。实际上，元宇宙中的一些房地产如今正以数百万美元的价格出售。许多人在元宇宙购买“房地产”作为投资手段。

从根本上说，买家是在投资某个元宇宙的未来，就像投资某种加密货币。好比现实世界中，人们会在他们认为未来将繁荣发展的地区和城市购买房地产。

跟现实生活中一样，有些“土地所有者”会在他们的“土地”上建造各类建筑物，有些则会把他们的土地/建筑物出租给租户或广告商。其中许多地块将用于商品销售，有些实际上还建有“实体”商店，人们可以“瞬移”到那里购物。

2. 电子商务将与实体商业融合

过去几十年，电子商务发展迅猛。值得注意的是，过去这几年，电子商务绝对人气爆棚。尤其在新冠疫情封控期间，很难想象不能网购会是什么样。2020年6月，全球电子商务网站30天内的访问量达到了220亿次。

作为电子商务和实体购物的结合，各个公司将在元宇宙中打造他们的“实体”商店。公司也可以花钱请开发者（类似“建筑工人”）帮他们搭建商店。元宇宙热门地区（“市集”“商场”或“市中心”）的客流量大，位于这些地区的“房地产”显然会更加昂贵。

不久的将来，你可以舒舒服服地待在家中，走进元宇宙上千万家“实体”店中的一家。接待你的要么是3D人工智能店员，要么是以各自独特的虚拟形象（可能穿戴着他们自己购买的衣服和配饰）出现的真实人类店员。

接下来，你就可以在店里四处“逛逛”，看看展示不同产品的陈列展台和时装模特。你可以试用并购买各类产品，这些产品将在现实世界中配送给你。这些商店销售的许多产品（你的虚拟形象穿的衣服、艺术品、土地、车辆、房屋等）也可能仅仅作为元宇宙中的资产存在，它们可充当非同质化代币。

3. 加密货币在元宇宙中将占据主流

想来一场国际元宇宙购物狂欢，最简单、最方便、最便宜的方式就是使用加密货币。你去的任何一家商店都可以使用加密货币，无论该公司总部位于哪个国家。有了加密货币，你不用支付任何国际通话费用或交易费用，而且元宇宙的大多数商店都将接受所有主流加密货币。

现在每个主流的元宇宙都有自己的本地加密货币，用于购买该元宇宙内的任何东西。每个元宇宙的加密货币的价值会随着该地的受欢迎程度而相应波动，这也是一种投资机会。元宇宙发展得越好，该地的加密货币就越值钱。

4. 广告将大举进入元宇宙

在元宇宙中，广告既会出现在建筑物、街道和广告牌上，也会出现在首映式或音乐会等大众活动中。

广告主体既可以是只存在于现实世界的产品，也可以是只存在于元宇宙的产品。

此外，企业将在元宇宙中嵌入与现实生活中的建筑相似的“实体”建筑。这些建筑所起到的作用不仅是让人们想到他们的产品，还让人们能够从他们的元宇宙商店购买产品（就像从他们的网站购物）。

5. 具有无限容量和奇幻特效的音乐会等活动

特拉维斯·斯科特、爱莉安娜·格兰德、贾斯汀·比伯和DJ棉花糖等艺人都已在元宇宙举办过了演唱会，“出席人数”打破了纪录。

在元宇宙中，表演者的虚拟形象可以制作得比真人还要大。此外，在元宇宙演唱会中，还可能发生一些很不可思议的事情，比如嗖一下弹到空中与表演者一起飞来飞去，或者让你周围的世界爆炸并解体。

不久的将来，先进的图像技术，加上完美的配有9.2声道环绕（或更好）的虚拟现实头显，会让人感到仿佛真的置身现实的演唱会。你不仅可以十分清晰地听到现场直播的音乐，还可以和“身边”的朋友及陌生人一起聊天、跳舞、唱歌。

6. 在元宇宙中开展在职培训

几十年来，飞行员和宇航员一直使用虚拟模拟器进行训练，因为使用模拟器训练显然比用真家伙训练便宜得多也安全得多。

随着元宇宙中各种仿真模拟的发展，大多数需要实操的行业（特别是涉及重型机械和多种复杂设备的行业）的员工将能大大受益于在元宇宙中进行的培训。

如果能够开发出足够逼真的模拟，那么元宇宙就有可能安全、廉价和便捷地为人们提供直接的“在职”培训，包括涉及紧急情况的培训。

几乎所有种类的工作都可以受益于在元宇宙中开展的培训。不过，对于产业工人、建筑工人、医务工作者、警察、消防队员、飞行员或其他任何容易处于危险情况中的职业来说，这种类型的体验式培训尤有裨益。

（译者单位：96717部队）

1 sit on成为团体的一员。

2 cryptocurrency加密货币。  3 brick-and-mortar砖块与灰浆，指实体经济。

4 mannequin （商店中用于陈列服装的）人体模型。  5 demo试用（尤指软件）。  6 NFT = Non-Fungible Token 非同质化代币，是一种基于区块链技术的数字化凭证，用于表示数字资产的唯一加密货币令牌，可以买卖。

7美国说唱歌手。  8美国流行女歌手。  9加拿大歌手。  10美国DJ、电子音乐制作人。

11 hands-on实际操作的。89D40A26-8A7C-46A3-97DB-8B5B526BF797