The concept of metaverse, called ‘the future of the Internet’, is perhaps the most hot topic in the world of technology recently. Facebook changed its name to Meta for the sake of it and made big moves; This concept, which means virtual universes in which we can spend our daily lives, receives investment from many people and giant companies and billions in the future, although it is at an early stage. In fact, it looks like it will turn into a trillion-dollar industry.
However, although there are new news about the metaverse every day, many people have doubts about it. The prediction that virtual universes will be so common in the future and making astronomical investments in it does not make sense by many people. In addition to these, there is another issue that the metaverse creates suspicion; environmental effects. Incoming news once again reveals that the environmental impact of such technologies is a controversial issue.
What effects can the Metaverse have?
Many experts, both from our country and around the world, want to draw attention to the positive and negative aspects of the metaverse, which is expected to enable people to do all their work virtually in the future from their homes. Environmental Engineer Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk underlines that many pollutants are released into nature as a result of conditions such as heating, cooling and lighting.
Stating that staying indoors all the time can reduce the air quality, Öztürk said that humidity and carbon dioxide should be in conditions suitable for human health; He states that otherwise there may be great risks. Noting that most of the carbon emissions originate from transportation, Öztürk also states that staying at home can have positive results, such as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, just like in the pandemic.
Cyber security experts in our country are among those who make statements about the metaverse. These people note that the metaverse can consume a significant amount of energy. For this reason, he emphasizes that faster servers should come out and that there may be problems in chip production, which is already problematic. Emphasizing the need to produce alternative chips, cyber security expert Osman Demircan, in his statements to AA, says that the electricity consumption that will arise may have negative effects on the nature.
Energy consumption will be the peak
Statements from around the world also show that there are doubts about the metaverse, which is stated to reach a value of more than 10 trillion dollars in the coming years. The fact that Metaverse includes technologies such as virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence and blockchain reveals the levels that energy consumption can reach. Technology giant Intel also emphasized that it may require 1,000 times more energy to power the metaverse in its statements on this subject.
A study has shown that users with the necessary hardware for virtual reality will spend thousands of dollars for electricity in the coming years; predicted that this could lead to a large carbon emissions. In addition, other studies have revealed that playing games causes a large energy consumption worldwide and stated that this situation may worsen in the metaverse and cloud technology use.
Apart from this, it is stated that the development and operation of artificial intelligence technologies that are planned to grow in the future may require a high level of computing power; This shows that thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emissions can occur. In addition, the environmental impact of blockchain technologies, which are important to the metaverse, such as NFTs and cryptocurrencies, has been a topic of discussion for a long time. Research has revealed that global Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than Argentina in a year. The high level of energy consumed while producing NFTs was also emphasized in the previous statements of the experts.
What solutions can be offered?
So what solutions can be offered for these frightening effects? Some companies, such as Google, have started to take steps in this regard. The US-based giant company announced that it plans to switch to carbon-zero energy in all its data centers by 2030. Similar decisions had come from other tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon. These revealed that carbon-free, renewable energy sources are a solution to the environmental impacts that may occur.
In addition, a study conducted by the Computer Games Journal in recent years stated that there is a way to save 13% of energy in gaming computers. Accordingly, reducing the speed of certain hardware can result in a 25% reduction in power usage and reduce energy consumption.
Many companies are considering turning to environmentally friendly technologies in the field of blockchain. It is stated that these technologies can consume much less energy than is currently consumed and cause a reduction in carbon emissions.
In short, discussions about the positive and negative effects of the metaverse, which we will hear more often in the future, continue unabated. Although it is foreseen that these technologies may cause great costs, it would not be wrong to state that more research should be done on the subject and necessary solutions should be provided.
For those of you who say what’s wrong with the Metaverse;
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