‘AI Tools Will Provide Very Interesting Improvements to the Metaverse’ — Upland Co-Founder – Interview Bitcoin News

According to Dirk Lueth, co-founder of Upland Metaverse, the colonization of the metaverse by tech giants and the construction of so-called “walled garden systems” is not sustainable. Lueth argues that instead of “locking users in,” the metaverse should usher in “a future where they are free to move between platforms and can easily take their assets and identity with them.”

‘Walled garden systems’ are not sustainable

While interest in the metaverse has seemingly waned, as evidenced by Meta’s decision to focus on artificial intelligence (AI), dirk lueth he argues that AI tools can still “provide very interesting enhancements to the metaverse in general.” The Upland co-founder also told Bitcoin.com News what he thinks about metaverses and the scarcity of “infinite earth.”

In an interview with Bitcoin.com News, Lueth also shared his thoughts on the multi-chain metaverse, as well as his organization’s plans to create a super metaverse app. Below are the rest of the Plateau Answers from the co-founder of Metaverse.

Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Neal Stephenson, who is said to have coined the term “metaverse,” is known to advocate for a free and open metaverse. However, some say that the tech giants are also working on their own metaverse projects that could lead them to colonize the metaverse and build walled gardens similar to today’s Web2. Do you think the metaverse will eventually be controlled by a small number of centralized entities?

Dirk Lueth (DL): We don’t have all the details of how the big tech giants will build their metaverse projects and if they will lock their users in walled gardens. I believe that walled garden systems are not sustainable over time and that people’s power, in combination with property rights, will become much stronger over time. This is also, by the way, why I co-founded, along with other decentralized projects, the open metaverse alliance for web3 (OM3). Rather than lock users away, we want to ensure there is a future where they can move freely between platforms and can easily take their assets and identity with them.

BCN: The blockchain industry is multi-chain, and users would expect the freedom to move their assets onto any chain they want. Do you think a multi-chain metaverse is a real possibility?

D.L.: Technically, multi-chain standards might already be possible today. You can have some assets on one blockchain and other assets on another. What is most important is having standards that define an asset’s metadata, appearance, and other characteristics. Once we have these standards, it will be easier for users to move their assets. And we are working on this in Upland and OMA3

BCN: What would you say are the different economic opportunities for entrepreneurs, developers and users who are not so tech-savvy in an ecosystem like Upland’s?

D.L.: Entrepreneurs or “Metaentrepreneurs” are Uplanders who operate their own businesses in Upland called “Metaventures”. Here they can resell assets from our partners like FIFA, NFLPA or other Upland assets. Soon there will also be shops where you can sell your own creations to other players and earn a living in Upland and possibly in real life too.

Developers are people or companies that provide their own experiences and apps to other Uplanders. One example is “World of Football”, which allows Uplanders to play a type of Rocket League game that is directly connected to Upland. Users enter this app by moving their game piece to a virtual property, i.e. a virtual address in Upland.

Not-so-tech-savvy users are incorporated into Upland as described above. They can start buying and selling property to other players with the goal of completing a collection as “king of the street”. Completing a collection means they can increase the return they get from owning the properties. They can use these earnings to travel to another city or buy a race car or outdoor décor item. As you can see, it’s easy to start with very simple gameplay engagement loops and then delve into Upland’s many possibilities.

BCN: Having invested billions of dollars, Meta recently laid off over 10,000 people to shift its focus from the metaverse to AI. In his opinion, why does it seem so difficult to build a metaverse that users find interesting, as Meta seems to have found?

D.L.: I can’t comment on Meta’s strategy and how far they’ve really strayed from the metaverse. The truth is that AI tools will bring very interesting improvements to the metaverse in general. At Upland, we’re super focused on creating digital asset utility and engagement points for our ecosystem of users, developers, designers, and brand partners. So far this has proven to work well for us, making Upland one of the leading platforms for the metaverse. We can improve? Of course, we are only beginning.

BCN: Your metaverse is said to be mapped to cities in the real world. Why did you choose to go this route when others have virtually unlimited land assets, and what would be your advice to users buying land and other assets in “infinite earth” metaverses?

D.L.: Being based in the real world creates a natural scarcity, just like in real life. When something is in short supply, market dynamics unfold, which is the foundation of the real economy we are building at Upland. But there are other advantages, for example, we automatically had landmarks, users can search for what a property looks like in real life, and they can buy an address that in real life might be near the ocean or owned by a celebrity. Through this, we empower our users to play with their own imagination.

I try to avoid giving specific strategic advice to Upland or other users. All I share with them is trying to understand the economics of the land you’re buying and running scenarios in your head when the supply went up indefinitely, which is something we’re avoiding at Upland.

super metaverse app

BCN: Let’s talk about the so-called metaverse super app. Sometimes when one thinks of a “super app”, Wechat or Telegram comes to mind. Does Upland envision becoming the Wechat of the metaverse?

D.L.: In general, a super app can be characterized as a complete mobile application that integrates core services like messaging and payments, as well as a number of third-party “applets” that span multiple industries, including retail, restaurants, and government agencies. This is especially true for the world of Web2 mobile applications. An application reaches super-application status when it seamlessly consolidates a critical mass of services, making it easy for users to switch between them, even if the integrated services may not be as efficient as stand-alone applications.

As the number of available services grows, the application becomes more attractive and profitable. Typical of super apps is that they start somewhere. Wechat started with Chat and Indonesia’s Gojek started with ride-sharing service. Like the predecessors of Web2, Upland wants to make it incredibly simple for users to work with a Web3 application. It is achieving this through multiple avenues.

First of all, Upland was built with mobile users in mind and is available on both app stores and on the web. Second, we are obfuscating complicated blockchain technology by offering onboarding with email and passwords. And third, because we allow the use of credit cards, Paypal (of course, crypto too), and in-app purchases, we make it even more convenient for most players to participate.

At Upland, we offer a wide spectrum of social, commercial and entertainment services to our users. We also empower third-party developers to connect with our economy and community by adding their apps and experiences to the metaverse.

When you look at these features and services, you can see that our goal is to become a metaverse super app. But while Wechat and Web2 apps are driven and influenced by the platform owners, we want to head in the direction of a user-owned, user-controlled metaverse super app – which is what Web3 is all about.

What are your thoughts about this interview? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is an award-winning journalist, author and writer in Zimbabwe. He has written extensively about the economic problems of some African countries and how digital currencies can provide an escape route for Africans.