China Social Science Review

No.1, 2023

Is the Metaverse a Technologically-Enhanced Future for Humanity

(Abstract)

Cai Hengjin

Given the current reality that the hardware, computing power and data storage capacity of human-computer interaction are far from adequate, if perfect replication of the real world is the ultimate goal of the metaverse, with the emphasis placed on restoring realistic experience, then the discussion of the metaverse at this stage would be more akin to hype or an anachronism. We see the metaverse as an extension of the world of human consciousness under current technological conditions and as a portal for humans to enter the world of AI. Its development depends on the reconfiguration of the relationship between man and man and between man and machine. The active hash interaction network provides the underlying architecture for the realization of a metaverse of beauty for all and of diversity and integrity, where nodes can generate temporal orders in digital space through simple mutual trust, and where trusted data ontologies guide each node to greater accountability. On this basis, it is possible for some nodes to acquire a subject identity. Entities in the metaverse must consume in specific scenarios and create value in the course of service delivery. The proliferation of subject entities and wealth in the metaverse has the potential to open up a second growth curve for human civilisation.