Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), has shifted his focus on the metaverse, a three-dimensional virtual reality, during the Meta Connect 2023 conference. Previously, the concept of the metaverse has lost popularity, with companies like Disney closing down their metaverse divisions and crypto-based startup metaverses failing. However, Zuckerberg is now emphasizing a blend of the digital and physical worlds, stating that the modern “real world” combines both realms. He envisions a future where people can interact physically while others join digitally as avatars or holograms, with AI entities present to assist as well.

In his keynote speech, Zuckerberg highlighted Meta’s efforts in blending virtual and physical spaces, showcasing the possibilities of meeting friends and playing games in an unreal world. However, this year’s presentation focused more on the integration of AI technology. Zuckerberg introduced various new features powered by Meta AI, including AI chatbots for brainstorming ideas and an AI assistant that can be brought into any chat platform. Although AI plays a significant role in Meta’s vision for the metaverse, it remains to be seen how users will perceive the connection between AI advancements and the metaverse concept.

As Meta is committed to the metaverse, it faces the challenge of defining and popularizing the term. The metaverse encompasses various aspects such as virtual reality, AI, and video games, making it a broad and potentially ambiguous concept. Nevertheless, for Zuckerberg and Meta, anything they do in the realms of virtual reality and technology can be considered part of the metaverse.

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