Brief History of the Metaverse (so Far)
The story of how the universe has evolved up until this point, and where the metaverse might take us next.
In the beginning, the universe was not much more than hot, unthinking hydrogen.
Billions of years passed, and the first suns died. New suns arose in the wake of their nebulae; these became engines of creation for more complex unthinking elements: carbon, oxygen and the others. These newer elements were important because they enabled life.
On the Earth, the first life was very simple: little more than bundles of replicating ribonucleotides. After some hundreds of millions of years, these molecules became bundled into complex packages — the first cells: prokaryotes.
The first major transition of life occurred: the eukayrotes — cells with nuclei and capable of sex — emerged, enabled by a symbiotic alliance with mitochondria, which were engulfed prokaryotes. Cooperation between these earlier forms of life was far more powerful than what came before.
Many more hundreds of millions of years passed, and most life was single cells. Enter the second major transition: some eukaryotes began organizing into cooperative groups: the first multicellular organisms.
This life couldn’t retain much information within its own lifespan, let alone beyond multiple lifespans.
Multicellular life flourished, giving rise to cells with different specializations. One of these were the neurons, which could learn and adapt within a lifespan. No longer was information bound to the slower processes of evolution and epigenetics.
Eventually, an animal evolved that was able to work with technology: humans. We invented language, writing, storage and computers. Information could be transmitted between us and beyond individual lives.
That’s where we are today. But maybe not for long…
What’s Next?
One path forward: perhaps human life up to this point has been a “biological boot loader for AI.”
Another path forward: the “Metaverse” is the threshold of another major transition in the history of life… one in which humans, silicon, AI and networks are woven together into a cooperative structure as profound as the emergence of multicellular life.
Perhaps this is how we equip ourselves to journey to outer-space… as well as explore the inner-space of creativity, empathy and collaboration.
Further Reading
If you’re curious about the metaverse, a good place to begin is this summary of some of the experiences that are already being built in it: The Metaverse is Real Gamification.
If you’re interested in the industry of the metaverse and the companies that are working to build it, my Market Map of the Metaverse is a good introduction.
You can also read a more detailed explanation of the various types of technologies that are enabling the metaverse in The Metaverse Value-Chain.