Metaverse Keynote

Welcome to the metaverse, the supposed workplace of the future. I should be able to be whoever I want here and transport myself to any place without leaving reality. At least that’s the promise I keep making in my talk about the metaverse. A new evolutionary stage of the Internet that not only provides us with information, but also draws us right into it. But if you ask me, I remain skeptical. What I have read and heard about this sounds more like a vision than reality. As a place for virtual or extended work scenarios, it may have its appeal, as I clearly show in my Metaverse keynote. But for me, the term metaverse seems more like a marketing construct that mainly inspires those who already enjoy gaming worlds. And yet I think it’s important to take the idea seriously, because if the individual technologies actually combine, it could create a space that changes the way we work and learn in the long term – a topic that I bring to life particularly vividly in my keynote Metaversum.

Between vision and reality in the Metaversum keynote

According to the official interpretation, Metaversum is not a single product, but a network of persistent, synchronized 3D worlds that are rendered in real time. Users move through these spaces with a strong sense of presence; their identity, contacts, objects and possessions should move seamlessly with them. Interoperability and continuity, i.e. the ability to move data such as avatars, rights or payments between different environments, are crucial. This definition, as outlined by industry thought leaders and others, emphasizes a massively scaled system that is not owned by one provider but is connected via open interfaces. In practice, this means many interacting technologies – from XR headsets and game engines such as Unity or Unreal to cloud computing and 5G networks. It is precisely this variety of components that I explain in my Metaverse keynote when I talk about how fragmented systems can be turned into an immersive whole.

Serious analyses describe the metaverse as a further development of today’s internet, in which you immerse yourself instead of just looking at it, but at the same time point out that a complete, device-independent, open system does not yet exist. Accordingly, in addition to social and playful places, industrial fields of application are emerging, such as digital twins of factories and cities, training in simulated environments or collaborative design workflows. These developments impressively demonstrate how relevant a keynote on the metaverse is today for companies that want to understand how virtual spaces are changing real work. If you want to take responsibility here, you have to think about data protection, security, moderation and inclusion from the outset, because the more immersive the technology, the more direct the contact with our senses – an idea that I particularly emphasize in my keynote on the metaverse. In my opinion, this is where the real magic lies.

How the keynote on the metaverse makes the future tangible

But without artificial intelligence, the metaverse would remain just an empty backdrop. It is only through AI that avatars can appear credible, languages can be translated in real time and entire environments can be adapted to individual needs. The common standards will decide whether isolated solutions become an ecosystem. At the same time, analysts are urging sobriety. The hype promises a lot, but implementation lags behind, and investments should be based on concrete benefits, not buzzwords. It is worthwhile for companies to start with clear pilots that bring about real improvement – such as training courses that train safely in risky situations or distributed teams working on a joint prototype. This is less glamorous than the grand vision, but it protects against disappointment and creates empirical knowledge. In my Metaverse keynote, I will show exactly these kinds of practical examples where immersive technologies create real added value.

For precisely this reason, I still wanted to bring the topic onto the stage. These days, huge LED walls often hang behind it. I use them to open a prepared video window into a seemingly limitless world. I put on a headset and supposedly enter the metaverse – a moment that regularly causes amazement in my Metaverse keynote. The audience sees everything in large format. An elaborately produced movie picks up speed, full of little gags, but also with serious explanations. My job is to use mind-reading in virtual Berlin to find the place a viewer is thinking of. I remain physically on stage, but in the picture I navigate through streets, squares and rooftops, while colleagues from other time zones join in, sometimes lifelike, sometimes as avatar figures. We talk to each other, we move around and act as if we are working on the task together. In the end, I’m standing in the exact place I was meant to be. Amazement, applause and a few more insights into a technological vision. And perhaps the simplest idea sticks: Only what has meaning between people deserves to become the next stage of the Internet – and that’s what my talk Metaverse is all about.