Amazon Exec Says Zuckerberg’s Metaverse a ‘Distraction’, Throws Shade At The Meta Project

Amazon's head of devices took a jab at Meta on Thursday, saying that the company is creating a fantasy world that distracts people from taking part in the real world.

"Bring People's Heads Up"

David Limp, during the Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything Festival, stated that Amazon wants to work on technologies that "bring people's heads up" and enable them to enjoy the real world, such as making the family a "more communal experience.

He also brought up the confusion hovering over the Metaverse, telling the audience that if he asks people about the project, he would get "205 different answers."

While Mark Zuckerberg's company continues to lose money and its stocks persist to fall down, many figures in the tech industry have expressed skepticism over the virtual reality project's prospects.

Formerly known as Facebook, Meta has already invested over $10 billion in the renowned Metaverse but its shares plummeted this year by 26%, including the decrease of Facebook's daily active users, the first time in its 18-year history.

Despite the promises of a futuristic technology through the Metaverse, several people in the industry are still not seeing merit in the project and how it will play out in the long run.

Shading the Metaverse

But this isn't also the first time that a tech head has thrown shade at the prospects of Zuckerbeg's Metaverse. In fact, in April, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, who is one of the pioneers of augmented reality, said that the Metaverse is "ambiguous and hypothetical."

In his interview with the Guardian in April, the CEO resonated with Limp's sentiments, stating that if the Metaverse is asked to a room of people and make them define it, everyone would have totally different definitions.

Former Nintendo of America executive Reggie Fils-Aimé also took a swipe at the company, saying that "Facebook itself is not an innovative company" and that people would not opt for spending their entertainment time in the virtual reality.

"I look at the vision that's been to date articulated, and I'm not a believer," the former exec added.

Meta is resolute in building this virtual world even if the flagship social network is unstable in terms of losing and regaining users. Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg explained in a blog post that the metaverse is "actually a little misleading" since it implies that you are transported to another universe.

He further noted that there is escapism in these technologies and ultimately Metaverse is about finding "more ways for the benefits of the online world to be felt in our daily lives- enriching our experiences, not replacing them."

With the hovering confusion on what the Metaverse really stands for and the skepticism by various people in the tech industry - the future for Zuckerberg's project remains bleak for the moment.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla