DOS Won’t Hunt: Digital Twins and The Metaverse We Have Not Seen

Instead of a virtual getaway destination that seems like a hybrid of Roblox, Minecraft, and Second Life, why not focus the Metaverse around digital twins?

Joao-Pierre S. Ruth, Senior Editor

May 29, 2023

Several weeks ago, in early May, Insider ran a story that declared the demise of the Metaverse, describing it as a fad bound to go the way of Google Glass. A number of retorts soon emerged to defend the Metaverse and the potential waiting to be explored. It is hard to ignore though that Microsoft and Disney pulled back their Metaverse efforts, laying off workers focused on that virtual space along with other company-wide staff cuts.

It also must be said that the hype and usage of generative AI around the world has shifted much of the public’s attention away from the Metaverse.

The future of the Metaverse seems malleable despite the dirt Insider tossed on it, especially with some folks who were behind video games “Fortnite” and “PUBG” reportedly seeing opportunities there.

Recently, Forbes featured a piece on the potential for generative AI to make it easier to create digital twins -- those virtual representations of, among other things, real-world parts and equipment used to test and examine possible performance issues that might surface.

So maybe what we got wrong was not understanding a real-world use case for something virtual. Instead of trying “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the Metaverse needs to simplify its bedrock.

What if the Metaverse, first and primarily, was home to digital twins?

What to Read Next:

Digital Twin Technology: Revolutionizing Product Development

City of Jackson Turns to Digital Twins to Fix Its Water Problems

Digital Twins are a Living and Breathing Network Diagram

About the Author

Joao-Pierre S. Ruth

Senior Editor

Joao-Pierre S. Ruth covers tech policy, including ethics, privacy, legislation, and risk; fintech; code strategy; and cloud & edge computing for InformationWeek. He has been a journalist for more than 25 years, reporting on business and technology first in New Jersey, then covering the New York tech startup community, and later as a freelancer for such outlets as TheStreet, Investopedia, and Street Fight.


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