Bill Gates stated that the year 2021 gave us a glimpse into our increasingly digital future, particularly the metaverse.
Even once the pandemic is almost over, it's apparent that much of the technology it ushered in will be with us for a long time.
The previous two years have seen massive advancements in how we use technology, hastening changes that might otherwise take years, if not a decade or longer.
Existing services, such as shopping groceries online or holding meetings via video chat, have enjoyed rapid and widespread adoption.
Bill Gates: Gates Notes 2021
Bill Gates's Gates Notes is an annual letter Gates has traditionally sent out every year that includes his visions, future predictions, and solutions about the pressing problems the earth collectively faces.
In 2021 Gates Notes, Gates stated that we've seen new technologies emerge in the age of digitization that is just on the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's to come in the years ahead.
Gates added that although digitization is here to stay, the technologies being used will improve over time.
It will take at least a decade to fully comprehend the pandemic's influence on digitization, but Gates believes there will be significant changes in this area.
Bill Gates on Digitization
The Gates Notes mentioned that the pandemic has changed the way businesses think about productivity and employee presence.
The lines between once-distinct areas of work, such as brainstorming, team meetings, and casual hallway talks, are blurring.
Structures that are thought were vital to workplace culture are starting to adapt, and those changes will likely accelerate in the coming years as firms and people settle into new permanent ways of working.
Expectations of what productivity entails have been shattered.
Gates expressed that we all have seen numerous possibilities to reconsider things and determine what is and is not working anymore.
Almost every industry was affected by the pandemic.
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Bill Gates: Metaverse
The tech billionaire also believed we'll soon witness a more significant shift.
People should not believe that the software that allows them to have virtual experiences will remain of the same quality. The pace of invention is only beginning to pick up.
Most virtual meetings are predicted to shift from 2D camera image grids, which I refer to as the Hollywood Squares paradigm, to the metaverse, a 3D place with digital avatars, within the next two or three years.
In addition, Facebook and Microsoft have recently revealed their views on this, giving most people their first glimpse of how it will look.
The concept is that users will ultimately use their avatar to meet up with folks in a virtual setting that seems like they are in the same room as them.
VR goggles and 3D Avatars
Furthermore, Gates stated there is a need for VR goggles and motion capture gloves moving forward with these technological advancements.
The VR goggles and motion capture gloves will correctly record your gestures, body posture, and audio quality.
Next year, Microsoft aims to release an interim version that will use a users' webcam to generate an avatar similar to the existing 2D configuration.
According to VRScout, Gates stated that there are a lot of firms working on 3D avatars, and he had the chance to try out several of their prototypes recently.
He expressed that he was blown away by what he witnessed.
The use of spatial audio, which makes speech sound like it's originating from the location of the person speaking, is one of the most significant enhancements over what we have presently.
Until a user tries something else, a user does not realize how odd it is to have conference audio exclusively coming from their computer's speaker.
There's still some work to be done, but digitization is getting close to the point where technology can genuinely duplicate the feeling of working together.
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