You've all seen the bombastic headlines. "The metaverse is dead." But is it actually true? I was certainly alarmed by the media reporting on the alleged demise of the industry in which I'm so involved in. So I thought I'd check in on the metaverse, see how it was doing. The metaverse is very young, after all, and we should keep an eye on it.
大家都看到过这种炸裂的新闻头条。 “元宇宙已经死了。” 但这说的是真的吗? 在媒体对这一与我紧密相关 的行业宣告死亡的时候, 我自然觉得不对劲。 所以我觉得 我该看一眼元宇宙, 看看它最近怎么样。 说到底,元宇宙还是很年轻的, 所以我们得时刻关注它。
And what I found was that the metaverse was very much the same metaverse as last I checked, except it had grown bigger and more impactful. I saw a place where millions of people who had been financially excluded find employment and real economic opportunities. I saw a place where participants, either singly or in groups, formed complex systems that very much resembled the workings of modern capitalist societies. I saw a place last year that generated over 30 billion dollars of economic activity and had treasuries maintained by those same communities to the tune of 12 billion dollars.
我发现,元宇宙比起我上次去看它 也没发生什么变化, 除了变大了, 变得更有影响力了。 我看到了这么一个地方, 让成千上万经济状况不佳的人 找到工作,找到真正的财富机遇。 我看到了这么一个地方, 参与其中的人独自或者一起 组成了复杂的系统,很像 当代资本主义社会下的工作制度。 我看到这个地方去年 激发出了超过 300 亿美元的 经济活动, 这同一拨人将这笔财富 维持在高达 120 亿美元。
Now, let's put that a little bit in context. The metaverse has reserves just below that of the fiscal reserves of New Zealand and greater economic activity than the GDP of Cyprus, Iceland and 100 other countries. The metaverse seems to be doing OK, but this may not be quite the metaverse that you're thinking of. You might be thinking of the metaverse as this 3D virtual-reality immersive space with additional sensory stimulation.
我来介绍一下其他背景信息。 元宇宙蕴含的财富 仅次于新西兰的财政储备金, 其经济活动高于塞浦路斯、 冰岛及其他 100 个国家的 GDP。 元宇宙看起来情况不错, 但这和你想象中的元宇宙 可能不太一样。 你可能会把元宇宙想象成 一个 3D 虚拟现实沉浸式空间, 外加一些感官刺激。
No, what I'm talking about is the open metaverse, powered by web3 and blockchain. The treasuries that I'm referring to are the treasuries of DAOs. Twelve billion dollars within control of its communities without any central authority. The banking system underlying the open metaverse is DeFi. You might have heard of decentralized finance before, but you may not have known that it is part and parcel of the open metaverse. All of this open metaverse is powered by blockchain and comprises part of what we describe as web3, which we firmly believe will be the future iteration of the internet, which is currently still mostly in the web2 stage.
不,我想说的是开放元宇宙, 基于 web3 和区块链。 我说的财富是 DAO(去中心化自治组织)这笔财富。 120 亿美元由自己的社区掌控, 不存在任何中央权威。 开放元宇宙底层的银行系统是 DeFi(去中心化金融)。 你可能之前听说过去中心化金融, 但你可能不知道 它是开放元宇宙的一部分 且是主要的一环。 开放元宇宙的各个部分 都由区块链支持, 组成了我们口中的 web3 的各个部分, 我们坚定地认为 web3 会是下一代互联网, 而互联网目前 还基本处于 web2 的阶段。
To access the open metaverse, you don't need fancy VR goggles, you just need plain old boring 2D screens. And you can enter a rich, thriving universe of capitalist economic societies that have virtual worlds, businesses, enterprises, experiences with millions of digital citizens. Our lives already have a very strong virtual component. In Asia, where I live, we spend over nine hours a day online. That is most of our waking hours. And perhaps for most of us, just think about what it is you do the first thing in the morning.
要进入开放元宇宙, 不需要任何酷炫的 VR 眼镜, 平平无奇的 2D 屏幕就够了。 然后你就进入了这个丰富、 充满资本主义经济社会的宇宙, 它有着虚拟的世界、 商业、企业、体验, 开放给成千上万的数字公民。 我们的生活中已经有了 一个很重要的虚拟元素。 在我所居住的亚洲, 我们每天上网超过九个小时。 也就是我们醒着的大部分时间。 也许对很多人来说, 回想一下你早上做的 第一件事是什么吧。
But in this virtual reality, we are like serfs, toiling on the lands of medieval lords. We have no ownership, no rights to speak of. Our digital existence can be removed on any of these platforms at a moment's notice without any due process. Whenever we are online, we accrue value to networks that don't belong to us. We are farmed for our time, attention and creativity and in so doing, generate large quantities of data. And data is the most valuable of resources. For starters, it's powering all of the AI that we've been hearing so much about. No data, no ChatGPT, no self-driving cars. The entire foundation of the AI industry is built on top of our data. And not just AI. Every industry covets our data.
但在这个虚拟现实中, 我们就像是在中世纪领主 的土地上苦苦耕耘的农奴。 我们没什么所有权,也没什么权利。 任何一个平台都可以随时随地 不经过任何程序 抹消我们的数字存在。 我们在线的每一刻, 都在给不属于自己的网络增添价值。 我们付出了自己的时间、 注意力和创造力, 与此同时,产生了大量的数据。 数据是最宝贵的资源。 简单来说,它驱动着 我们现在耳熟能详的各种 AI。 没有数据, 就没有 ChatGPT, 没有无人驾驶汽车。 AI 产业的整个底座 就是我们的数据。 不仅仅是 AI。 所有行业都觊觎着我们的数据。
Data is the new labor. And we're not being fairly compensated for it. We create it, but it is exclusively owned by the publishers and platforms today. That is a world of web2 we live in today, but web3 and blockchain can change that because unlike web2, we can now finally have true digital ownership.
数据就是新劳力。 但我们没有收获应有的回报。 我们创造了它, 但现在都由发行商和平台专有。 这就是我们现在 所处的 web2 世界, 但 web3 和区块链 可以改变这个局面, 因为与 web2 不同, 我们终于可以拥有 真正的数字所有权了。
Ownership of things gives us corresponding economic freedoms. The freedom to transact, to do with as we please. It also allows us to partake in all the network effects related to the ownership of these things. Think about all the businesses that have been created just because we own things, such as the cars we have, houses we live in, or even the phones. Ownership also speaks to our identity. We buy and purchase things because of what it means to us. Self expression, ownership of these things, such as fashion, jewelry, and yes, even NFTs.
所有权给予了我们 相应的财务自由。 交易的自由,为所欲为的自由。 也让我们可以享受拥有这些东西 所引发的网络效应。 想像一下仅仅是因为 我们拥有一些东西 而产生的各种生意, 比如我们拥有的车, 我们居住的房屋, 甚至是手机。 所有权还与我们的身份有关。 我们会因为商品对我们的意义而购买。 自我表达,对物品的所有权, 如时尚、珠宝,没错, 甚至是 NFT。
A lot of people struggle with web3 and NFTs because they see the prices at the higher end of things. They look at this bored ape and say, "How can this be more valuable than this Birkin bag, which is an actual, real item?" But people don't buy this Birkin bag because they want to put stuff in it.
很多人纠结于 web3 和 NFT, 是因为他们发现价格不菲。 他们看着无聊猿,说道: “这玩意怎么可能会 比爱马仕柏金包还值钱? 包还看得见,摸得着呢。” 但人们不会因为 想用柏金包装东西买它。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Ninety-nine percent of its value is entirely virtual network effects upheld by the community of Birkin bag lovers who find them desirable and valuable. Its utility is a very distant second. And this is perhaps true for almost everything that we purchase in the real world. Owning the story, owning a part of the culture, being a part of the community that forms part of our identity is why we buy things. The same is true for the open metaverse. Ownership, identity, culture and community are far more important considerations for most of us than just its utility.
它 99% 的价值完全来源于 由柏金包爱好者群体炒起来的 虚拟网络效应, 这些人很想要这款包, 觉得值得拥有。 它的实用性根本不值一提。 我们在现实世界中 买的大多数东西 也许都是如出一辙。 拥有这个故事, 拥有文化的一部分, 成为集体的一部分,让这个集体 成为我们身份的一部分, 就是我们买东西的原因。 在开放元宇宙中也是一样的。 所有权、身份、文化和集体, 对我们大多数人来说, 值得考虑的远不止 它的实用性。
And if this still feels far-fetched to you, consider this. Last year, the video game industry generated over 100 billion dollars of sales in virtual goods. And the fun fact is that all of the things that they purchased were predominantly cosmetic and whimsical in nature. Skins, trinkets, decorative items. Things that make your virtual identities shine. Just ask your kids what they want for the next presents.
如果听起来还是遥不可及, 想一想这一点。 去年, 电子游戏产业中的 虚拟商品销售额 达到了超过 1000 亿美元。 有趣之处在于他们买的这些东西 本质上就是些装饰品 和虚无缥缈的东西。 皮肤、小首饰、装饰品。 一些让你的虚拟身份闪耀的东西。 问问你的娃, 下一件礼物想要什么。
But everything you purchase in those worlds in video games today, we don't own. That's 100 billion dollars of rental goods. NFTs can change that because now we can actually own these virtual goods. When you own an NFT, such as virtual land in the metaverse, you become a stakeholder. You become an owner. Any time you own an asset in web3, it represents a stake in that network that you wish to participate in. Imagine every time you shared something on Instagram, for value you generated, you would receive a small stake in the network that would be that social network. Think of the open metaverse as the construction of new economies and new societies with a strong foundation of digital property rights.
但是,你在现在的 电子游戏世界中买的东西, 都不会为我们所有。 也就是 1000 亿美元的租用商品。 NFT 可以改变这个情况, 因为现在我们可以 真正拥有这些虚拟物品了。 当你拥有了一个 NFT, 比如元宇宙中的一块虚拟土地, 你就成为了一个利益相关者。 你就成为了一个所有者。 你在 web3 里每拥有一个财产, 就代表着你在想要加入的 关系网中的一张筹码。 想像一下你每一次 在 Instagram 上发布内容, 都会因为你产生的价值 获得这个关系网中的 一小块筹码, 这个关系网会成为 一张更大的社交网。 把开放元宇宙 想象成打造新的经济体制, 新的社会, 有着数字产权的坚实基础。
This presents us with a remarkable opportunity to shift away from this current form of shareholder capitalism that has left so many people behind, to this newer form of stakeholder capitalism in which every participant can now also become an owner. This, to me, is what tokenization and web3 is all about. That is the meaning of the open metaverse.
这为我们带来了一个 千载难逢的机会, 抛弃现在让很多人望尘莫及的 股东资本主义体系, 采用新型的利益相关者资本主义, 每个参与者现在都成为了所有者。 对我来说, 这就是代币化和 web3 的本质。 这就是开放元宇宙的意义。
Tokenization is perhaps also the best way in which we can protect our digital intellectual property rights. When Getty Images sued the creators of Stable Diffusion, they did so because they could tell that they were using their images to train their AI models. But they could only do so because Stable Diffusion was sloppy. You could see the Getty Images watermark all over the generated images.
代币化也许也是 我们保护数字知识产权的最佳方式。 Getty Images 起诉了 Stable Diffusion 的创始人, 是因为他们看出了 Stable Diffusion 在用他们的图片 训练自己的 AI 模型。 但是他们真能起诉只是 因为 Stable Diffusion 很马虎。 Getty Images 的水印 在生成的图片上随处可见。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Most of us won't be so lucky. Blockchain can help solve the provenance of our digital property and lay the foundation of protecting our rights. In this web3 future, all of us can get to earn and own a piece of the equity on these networks that we construct and grow.
我们这些人可没那么幸运了。 区块链可以保障数字资产的出处, 为保护我们的权利打下基础。 在这 web3 的未来中, 我们所有人都可以 获取、拥有我们打造、 助长的网络中的一份资产。
All the data that we generate today ... should be paying us an income. And all the other benefits that property rights may bring. That is why web3 is so often described as the internet of ownership. And ownership has always been a key pillar to prosperity. There is a clear correlation between property rights and the wealth of nations. Countries such as Canada and the US that enjoy strong property rights have very high GDPs, high wealth, strong entrepreneurial and capitalist activities compared to those countries that have very low property rights, that tend to have low GDPs and also tend to be the poorest in the world. Countries with strong property rights also have correspondingly much higher freedoms.
我们现在产生的所有数据, 本该成为我们的收入。 还有其他随产权而来的福利。 这就是为什么 web3 总是会 被称为所有权的互联网。 所有权一直是走向繁荣的必备条件。 产权和国家财富之间 有着明确的关联。 像加拿大、美国这样的国家, 享有坚实的产权, 也有很高的 GDP、大量的财富、 活跃的创业和资本活动, 而产权非常薄弱的国家, GDP 就会很低, 也更有可能成为 世界上最贫穷的国家。 强产权的国家 也相应地有更多的自由。
True digital property rights provides us with a chance to create a fairer, more inclusive form of capitalism. One that can still provide all the incentives to help entrepreneurship and innovation flourish, as capitalism has done for centuries before. This can already be seen in the digital context. Last year, NFTs generated over 24 billion dollars of sales. The majority of that went to the creators and owners of these NFTs. Web2 platforms, such as Spotify, paid only a third of that to its creators in that same year.
真正的数字产权 给予我们机会创造一个更公平、 更具包容性的资本主义形式。 它仍然可以提供各种激励, 让创业和创新遍地开花, 正如资本主义在几百年前达成的效果。 这在数字环境下已经有所显现。 去年,NFT 创造了 超过 240 亿美元的销售额。 大部分所得直接归 NFT 的 创造者和所有者所有。 web2 平台,如 Spotify, 去年只将三分之一的销售额 支付给了作品创作者。
George Washington famously wrote, "Freedom and property rights are inseparable. You can't have one without the other." The same is true for the virtual realm. In order to ensure our digital freedom, that we not be slaves to either platforms or any of the future AIs, we must also have true digital property rights.
乔治·华盛顿有一句名言: “自由和产权是密不可分的。 缺一不可。” 在虚拟的世界中也是如此。 要保障我们的数字自由, 确保我们不沦为平台 或未来某个 AI 的奴隶, 我们必须拥有真正的数字产权。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)