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.
各位都看過這誇大的標題: 「元宇宙已死。」 但事實真的如此? 我所從事的行業 被媒體報導成已經消亡, 讓我感到震驚。 所以我想了解元宇宙, 看看它的情況如何。 畢竟,元宇宙還很年輕, 我們應該繼續關注它。
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.
我的發現是,元宇宙 和我上次查看時的沒兩樣, 只是規模更大且更具影響力。 我看到數百萬位在財務上被排擠的人, 在元宇宙中找到工作 和真正的經濟機會; 我看到元宇宙的參與者, 不論是以個人或團體形式, 組成了複雜的系統,且這些系統 與現代資本主義社會運作十分相似; 我看到元宇宙在去年產生了價值 超過 300 億美元的經濟活動, 且還有 120 億美元的資金, 也是由同樣這些社區維持。
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.
讓我們以實例來看。 元宇宙的儲備金 僅略低於紐西蘭的財政儲備, 其經濟活動卻超過了塞浦路斯、 冰島和其他一百個國家的 國內生產毛額 。 元宇宙似乎做得還不錯, 但這或非你心目中的元宇宙。 你可能認為元宇宙 是一個具有額外感官刺激的 三維虛擬實境沉浸式空間。
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,我所說的是 由 web3 和區塊鏈驅動的 開放式元宇宙。 我所指的資金是 DAO (去中心化自治組織)的資金。 120 億美元由其社區控制, 沒有任何中央權力機構。 開放式元宇宙 的基礎銀行系統是 DeFi 。 你以前或許聽過「去中心化金融」, 但你可能不知道 它是開放式元宇宙不可或缺的部分 。 這些開放式元宇宙都由區塊鏈驅動, 組成我們所指 web3 的一部分, 我們堅信,web3 將是 目前還處於 web2 階段的 互聯網的未來迭代 。
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.
你不需要花巧的 VR 眼鏡, 去進入開放式元宇宙, 只需要普通舊款的 2D 螢幕就可。 你就可以進入一個豐富多彩, 欣欣向榮的資本主義經濟社會, 那裡有虛擬世界、商業、大企業、體驗 和數以百萬計的數位公民。 我們的生活已有很強的虛擬成分。 在我生活的亞洲, 我們每天花超過九小時在網絡上。 那是我們醒著的大部分時間。 可能對我們多數人來說, 只要想想每天早上 你做的第一件事就知道了。
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.
但在這個虛擬世界裡, 我們就像農奴, 在中世紀領主的土地上苦幹。 我們沒有所有權,沒有任何權利可言。 我們的數位存在身分 可能隨時在任何一個平台上被刪除, 無需經任何法律程序。 只要我們一上線, 我們就會為 不屬於我們的網絡積累價值。 我們的時間、注意力 和創造力都被榨取, 並由此產生大量數據。 而數據就是最寶貴的資源。 首先,它驅動了我們耳熟能詳的AI。 沒有數據, 就沒有 ChatGPT, 就沒有自動駕駛汽車。 整個 AI 產業的基礎 都建立在我們的數據上。 不單單是 AI。 每個行業都在垂涎我們的數據。
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.
數據是新的勞動力, 而我們卻沒有得到公平回報。 我們創造了它, 但如今,它完全歸出版商和平台所有。 那是我們今天所處的 web2 世界, 但 web3 和區塊鏈 可以改變這種狀況, 因爲不同於 web2, 我們現在終於可以擁有 真正的數位所有權。
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.
對事物的所有權 賦予我們相應的經濟自由。 交易的自由,隨心所欲的自由。 它還能讓我們分享 與這些物品所有權相關的 全部網絡效應。 想想那些因為我們擁有物品 而誕生的企業, 比如我們擁有的汽車、居所、 甚至手機。 所有權也關係到我們的身份。 購物,是因為物品對我們的意義。 自我表達,這些物品的所有權 如時裝、珠寶,對, 甚至是 NFT (非同質化代幣) 。
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.
很多人對 Web3 和 NFT 都很糾結, 因為他們看到是高端品的價格。 他們看着這隻無聊猿說: 「它怎可能比這個實實在在, 真正的柏金包更值錢呢?」 但人們買這個柏金包, 並非因他們想用來放東西。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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% 的價值 完全來自於柏金包的愛好者 羣體的虛擬網絡效應, 他們認爲這些皮包 是值得擁有、有價值的。 其實用性遠次於此。 這也許適用於我們在現實世界中 購買的所有物品。 擁有故事、 擁有其文化的一部分、 成為建構我們身份的社區一份子, 就是我們購物的原因。 開放式元宇宙也一樣。 所有權、身份、文化和社區 對我們大多數人來說, 遠比實用性重要。
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.
如果你仍然覺得牽強, 不妨想一下: 去年, 電子遊戲產業 創造了超過 1000 億美元的 虛擬商品銷售額。 而有趣的事實是,他們購買的所有東西 都以化妝品和古怪性質爲主。 造型、小飾物、裝飾品。 這些東西讓你的虛擬身份閃閃生輝。 問問你的孩子想要什麼禮物就知道了。
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.
但如今你在電子遊戲世界中購買的一切, 都不屬於我們。 這是價值 1000 億美元的租賃品。 NFT 可以改變這種狀況, 因為現在我們可以 真正擁有這些虛擬商品。 當你擁有 NFT, 例如元宇宙中的虛擬土地時, 你就成為持份者。 你成為擁有者。 任何時候,只要你 擁有 web3 中的資產, 它就代表了你在想參與的 網絡中的持份。 想像每當你在 Instagram 上 分享一些東西, 你所產生的價值 就會在該社交網絡中 獲得一小部的股份。 將開放式元宇宙 視為在數位產權的堅實基礎上, 所構建的新經濟和新社會。
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.
這為我們提供一個絕佳機會, 讓我們從目前這種已將許多人撇下, 即股東形式資本主義, 轉為較新的持份者形式資本主義, 讓每個參與者現在都可以成為擁有者。 在我看來, 這就是代幣化和 web3 的意義所在。 這就是開放式元宇宙的意義所在。
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.
代幣化或許是保護我們的 數位知識產權的最佳方式。 當蓋帝圖像 (Getty Images) 起訴 Stable Diffusion 的創作者時, 他們之所以這樣做, 是因為他們知道這些創作者 正使用他們的圖片來訓練 AI 模型。 但他們能提告, 只因 Stable Diffusion 做得太馬虎。 你可以在生成的圖片上 看到蓋帝圖像的水印。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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.
我們多數人都不會這麼幸運。 區塊鏈可以幫助我們 解決數位財產的起源問題, 並奠定基礎來保護我們的權利。 在這個 web3 的未來, 大家都可以在我們構建 和發展的這些網絡中 賺取和擁有部分資產。
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.
我們今天產生的所有數據...... 都應該為我們帶來收入, 以及產權可能帶來的其他好處。 這就是 web3 常被描述為 所有權互聯網的原因。 所有權一直是繁榮的關鍵支柱。 產權與國家財富之間 有着明顯的相關性。 加拿大和美國等產權健全的國家, 擁有極高的 GDP、財富、 強大的企業和資本主義活動, 而那些產權極低的國家 往往有較低 GDP, 也常常是世界上最貧窮的國家。 產權健全的國家 也相應擁有更高自由度。
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.
真正的數位產權 為我們提供機會,創造更公平、 更具包容性的資本主義。 它仍能提供各種激勵措施, 幫助企業創新蓬勃發展, 就像資本主義幾個世紀以來所做的一樣。 這一點在數位領域已經有所體現。 去年,NFT 產生了 超過 240 億美元的銷售額。 當中大部分都歸於 這些 NFT 的創作者和擁有者。 而 Web2 平台如 Spotify, 在同一年只向創作者 支付了其中的三分一。
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.
喬治·華盛頓曾寫下名言: 「自由與產權不可分割。 二者缺一不可。」 虛擬領域也一樣。 為了確保我們的數位自由, 讓我們不會成為任何平台 或未來 AI 的奴隸, 我們還須擁有真正的數位產權。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)