The metaverse is not here yet, but its effects are already real

After a period of intense media attention, the metaverse has disappeared from the radar. Public opinion is now focused on other issues, and meeting friends via headsets is no longer a priority. Some consider the metaverse a flop, noting that even Meta employees do not use it; others see it as a tool for improving workplace communication, training, or creating meta-jobs. The metaverse is still far from concrete: it is a long-term investment project, an industrial protocol that crowdsources research toward a shared goal, similar to Cold War defense funding. Before the metaverse can exist, hardware and software technologies, economic tools, algorithms for seamless transitions, control systems, and real-to-virtual input translation must be developed. Each component will have industrial applications beyond the metaverse, from military to medical. The real question is whether the metaverse is already generating effects in the real world, not inside a headset.