The Dream of Digital Ownership, Powered by the Metaverse | Yat Siu | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: suya f.

You've all seen the bombastic headlines.

大家都看到过这种炸裂的新闻头条。

"The metaverse is dead."

“元宇宙已经死了。”

But is it actually true?

但这说的是真的吗？

I was certainly alarmed by the media reporting

在媒体对这一与我紧密相关 的行业宣告死亡的时候，

on the alleged demise of the industry in which I'm so involved in.

我自然觉得不对劲。

So I thought I'd check in on the metaverse,

所以我觉得 我该看一眼元宇宙，

see how it was doing.

看看它最近怎么样。

The metaverse is very young, after all, and we should keep an eye on it.

说到底，元宇宙还是很年轻的， 所以我们得时刻关注它。

And what I found was that the metaverse was very much the same metaverse

我发现，元宇宙比起我上次去看它

as last I checked,

也没发生什么变化，

except it had grown bigger and more impactful.

除了变大了， 变得更有影响力了。

I saw a place where millions of people who had been financially excluded

我看到了这么一个地方， 让成千上万经济状况不佳的人

find employment and real economic opportunities.

找到工作，找到真正的财富机遇。

I saw a place where participants, either singly or in groups,

我看到了这么一个地方， 参与其中的人独自或者一起

formed complex systems that very much resembled

组成了复杂的系统，很像

the workings of modern capitalist societies.

当代资本主义社会下的工作制度。

I saw a place last year that generated over 30 billion dollars

我看到这个地方去年 激发出了超过 300 亿美元的

of economic activity

经济活动，

and had treasuries maintained by those same communities

这同一拨人将这笔财富

to the tune of 12 billion dollars.

维持在高达 120 亿美元。

Now, let's put that a little bit in context.

我来介绍一下其他背景信息。

The metaverse has reserves

元宇宙蕴含的财富

just below that of the fiscal reserves of New Zealand

仅次于新西兰的财政储备金，

and greater economic activity than the GDP of Cyprus,

其经济活动高于塞浦路斯、

Iceland and 100 other countries.

冰岛及其他 100 个国家的 GDP。

The metaverse seems to be doing OK,

元宇宙看起来情况不错，

but this may not be quite the metaverse that you're thinking of.

但这和你想象中的元宇宙 可能不太一样。

You might be thinking of the metaverse

你可能会把元宇宙想象成

as this 3D virtual-reality immersive space with additional sensory stimulation.

一个 3D 虚拟现实沉浸式空间， 外加一些感官刺激。

No, what I'm talking about is the open metaverse,

不，我想说的是开放元宇宙，

powered by web3 and blockchain.

基于 web3 和区块链。

The treasuries that I'm referring to

我说的财富是

are the treasuries of DAOs.

DAO（去中心化自治组织）这笔财富。

Twelve billion dollars within control of its communities

120 亿美元由自己的社区掌控，

without any central authority.

不存在任何中央权威。

The banking system underlying the open metaverse is DeFi.

开放元宇宙底层的银行系统是 DeFi（去中心化金融）。

You might have heard of decentralized finance before,

你可能之前听说过去中心化金融，

but you may not have known

但你可能不知道

that it is part and parcel of the open metaverse.

它是开放元宇宙的一部分 且是主要的一环。

All of this open metaverse is powered by blockchain

开放元宇宙的各个部分 都由区块链支持，

and comprises part of what we describe as web3,

组成了我们口中的 web3 的各个部分，

which we firmly believe will be the future iteration of the internet,

我们坚定地认为 web3 会是下一代互联网，

which is currently still mostly in the web2 stage.

而互联网目前 还基本处于 web2 的阶段。

To access the open metaverse, you don't need fancy VR goggles,

要进入开放元宇宙， 不需要任何酷炫的 VR 眼镜，

you just need plain old boring 2D screens.

平平无奇的 2D 屏幕就够了。

And you can enter a rich,

然后你就进入了这个丰富、

thriving universe of capitalist economic societies

充满资本主义经济社会的宇宙，

that have virtual worlds, businesses, enterprises, experiences

它有着虚拟的世界、 商业、企业、体验，

with millions of digital citizens.

开放给成千上万的数字公民。

Our lives already have a very strong virtual component.

我们的生活中已经有了 一个很重要的虚拟元素。

In Asia, where I live,

在我所居住的亚洲，

we spend over nine hours a day online.

我们每天上网超过九个小时。

That is most of our waking hours.

也就是我们醒着的大部分时间。

And perhaps for most of us,

也许对很多人来说，

just think about what it is you do the first thing in the morning.

回想一下你早上做的 第一件事是什么吧。

But in this virtual reality,

但在这个虚拟现实中，

we are like serfs, toiling on the lands of medieval lords.

我们就像是在中世纪领主 的土地上苦苦耕耘的农奴。

We have no ownership, no rights to speak of.

我们没什么所有权，也没什么权利。

Our digital existence can be removed on any of these platforms

任何一个平台都可以随时随地 不经过任何程序

at a moment's notice without any due process.

抹消我们的数字存在。

Whenever we are online,

我们在线的每一刻，

we accrue value to networks that don't belong to us.

都在给不属于自己的网络增添价值。

We are farmed for our time, attention and creativity

我们付出了自己的时间、 注意力和创造力，

and in so doing, generate large quantities of data.

与此同时，产生了大量的数据。

And data is the most valuable of resources.

数据是最宝贵的资源。

For starters, it's powering all of the AI

简单来说，它驱动着 我们现在耳熟能详的各种 AI。

that we've been hearing so much about.

No data,

没有数据，

no ChatGPT,

就没有 ChatGPT，

no self-driving cars.

没有无人驾驶汽车。

The entire foundation of the AI industry is built on top of our data.

AI 产业的整个底座 就是我们的数据。

And not just AI.

不仅仅是 AI。

Every industry covets our data.

所有行业都觊觎着我们的数据。

Data is the new labor.

数据就是新劳力。

And we're not being fairly compensated for it.

但我们没有收获应有的回报。

We create it,

我们创造了它，

but it is exclusively owned by the publishers and platforms today.

但现在都由发行商和平台专有。

That is a world of web2 we live in today,

这就是我们现在 所处的 web2 世界，

but web3 and blockchain can change that

但 web3 和区块链 可以改变这个局面，

because unlike web2,

因为与 web2 不同，

we can now finally have true digital ownership.

我们终于可以拥有 真正的数字所有权了。

Ownership of things gives us corresponding economic freedoms.

所有权给予了我们 相应的财务自由。

The freedom to transact, to do with as we please.

交易的自由，为所欲为的自由。

It also allows us to partake in all the network effects

也让我们可以享受拥有这些东西

related to the ownership of these things.

所引发的网络效应。

Think about all the businesses that have been created

想像一下仅仅是因为 我们拥有一些东西

just because we own things,

而产生的各种生意，

such as the cars we have, houses we live in,

比如我们拥有的车， 我们居住的房屋，

or even the phones.

甚至是手机。

Ownership also speaks to our identity.

所有权还与我们的身份有关。

We buy and purchase things because of what it means to us.

我们会因为商品对我们的意义而购买。

Self expression, ownership of these things,

自我表达，对物品的所有权，

such as fashion, jewelry, and yes,

如时尚、珠宝，没错，

even NFTs.

甚至是 NFT。

A lot of people struggle with web3 and NFTs

很多人纠结于 web3 和 NFT，

because they see the prices at the higher end of things.

是因为他们发现价格不菲。

They look at this bored ape and say,

他们看着无聊猿，说道：

"How can this be more valuable than this Birkin bag,

“这玩意怎么可能会 比爱马仕柏金包还值钱？

which is an actual, real item?"

包还看得见，摸得着呢。”

But people don't buy this Birkin bag because they want to put stuff in it.

但人们不会因为 想用柏金包装东西买它。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Ninety-nine percent of its value is entirely virtual network effects

它 99% 的价值完全来源于 由柏金包爱好者群体炒起来的

upheld by the community of Birkin bag lovers

虚拟网络效应，

who find them desirable and valuable.

这些人很想要这款包， 觉得值得拥有。

Its utility is a very distant second.

它的实用性根本不值一提。

And this is perhaps true for almost everything that we purchase

我们在现实世界中 买的大多数东西

in the real world.

也许都是如出一辙。

Owning the story,

拥有这个故事，

owning a part of the culture,

拥有文化的一部分，

being a part of the community that forms part of our identity

成为集体的一部分，让这个集体 成为我们身份的一部分，

is why we buy things.

就是我们买东西的原因。

The same is true for the open metaverse.

在开放元宇宙中也是一样的。

Ownership, identity, culture and community

所有权、身份、文化和集体，

are far more important considerations for most of us

对我们大多数人来说， 值得考虑的远不止

than just its utility.

它的实用性。

And if this still feels far-fetched to you, consider this.

如果听起来还是遥不可及， 想一想这一点。

Last year,

去年，

the video game industry generated over 100 billion dollars of sales

电子游戏产业中的 虚拟商品销售额

达到了超过 1000 亿美元。

in virtual goods.

And the fun fact is that all of the things that they purchased

有趣之处在于他们买的这些东西

were predominantly cosmetic and whimsical in nature.

本质上就是些装饰品 和虚无缥缈的东西。

Skins, trinkets, decorative items.

皮肤、小首饰、装饰品。

Things that make your virtual identities shine.

一些让你的虚拟身份闪耀的东西。

Just ask your kids what they want for the next presents.

问问你的娃， 下一件礼物想要什么。

But everything you purchase in those worlds in video games today,

但是，你在现在的 电子游戏世界中买的东西，

we don't own.

都不会为我们所有。

That's 100 billion dollars of rental goods.

也就是 1000 亿美元的租用商品。

NFTs can change that

NFT 可以改变这个情况，

because now we can actually own these virtual goods.

因为现在我们可以 真正拥有这些虚拟物品了。

When you own an NFT, such as virtual land in the metaverse,

当你拥有了一个 NFT， 比如元宇宙中的一块虚拟土地，

you become a stakeholder.

你就成为了一个利益相关者。

You become an owner.

你就成为了一个所有者。

Any time you own an asset in web3,

你在 web3 里每拥有一个财产，

it represents a stake in that network that you wish to participate in.

就代表着你在想要加入的 关系网中的一张筹码。

Imagine every time you shared something on Instagram,

想像一下你每一次 在 Instagram 上发布内容，

for value you generated,

都会因为你产生的价值

you would receive a small stake in the network

获得这个关系网中的 一小块筹码，

that would be that social network.

这个关系网会成为 一张更大的社交网。

Think of the open metaverse as the construction of new economies

把开放元宇宙 想象成打造新的经济体制，

and new societies

新的社会，

with a strong foundation of digital property rights.

有着数字产权的坚实基础。

This presents us with a remarkable opportunity

这为我们带来了一个 千载难逢的机会，

to shift away from this current form of shareholder capitalism

抛弃现在让很多人望尘莫及的 股东资本主义体系，

that has left so many people behind,

to this newer form of stakeholder capitalism

采用新型的利益相关者资本主义，

in which every participant can now also become an owner.

每个参与者现在都成为了所有者。

This, to me,

对我来说，

is what tokenization and web3 is all about.

这就是代币化和 web3 的本质。

That is the meaning of the open metaverse.

这就是开放元宇宙的意义。

Tokenization is perhaps also

代币化也许也是

the best way in which we can protect our digital intellectual property rights.

我们保护数字知识产权的最佳方式。

When Getty Images sued the creators of Stable Diffusion,

Getty Images 起诉了 Stable Diffusion 的创始人，

they did so because they could tell that they were using their images

是因为他们看出了 Stable Diffusion 在用他们的图片

to train their AI models.

训练自己的 AI 模型。

But they could only do so because Stable Diffusion was sloppy.

但是他们真能起诉只是 因为 Stable Diffusion 很马虎。

You could see the Getty Images watermark all over the generated images.

Getty Images 的水印 在生成的图片上随处可见。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Most of us won't be so lucky.

我们这些人可没那么幸运了。

Blockchain can help solve the provenance of our digital property

区块链可以保障数字资产的出处，

and lay the foundation of protecting our rights.

为保护我们的权利打下基础。

In this web3 future,

在这 web3 的未来中，

all of us can get to earn and own a piece of the equity

我们所有人都可以 获取、拥有我们打造、

on these networks that we construct and grow.

助长的网络中的一份资产。

All the data that we generate today ...

我们现在产生的所有数据，

should be paying us an income.

本该成为我们的收入。

And all the other benefits that property rights may bring.

还有其他随产权而来的福利。

That is why web3 is so often described as the internet of ownership.

这就是为什么 web3 总是会 被称为所有权的互联网。

And ownership has always been a key pillar to prosperity.

所有权一直是走向繁荣的必备条件。

There is a clear correlation between property rights

产权和国家财富之间 有着明确的关联。

and the wealth of nations.

Countries such as Canada and the US

像加拿大、美国这样的国家，

that enjoy strong property rights

享有坚实的产权，

have very high GDPs, high wealth,

也有很高的 GDP、大量的财富、

strong entrepreneurial and capitalist activities

活跃的创业和资本活动，

compared to those countries that have very low property rights,

而产权非常薄弱的国家，

that tend to have low GDPs

GDP 就会很低，

and also tend to be the poorest in the world.

也更有可能成为 世界上最贫穷的国家。

Countries with strong property rights

强产权的国家

also have correspondingly much higher freedoms.

也相应地有更多的自由。

True digital property rights

真正的数字产权

provides us with a chance to create a fairer,

给予我们机会创造一个更公平、 更具包容性的资本主义形式。

more inclusive form of capitalism.

One that can still provide all the incentives

它仍然可以提供各种激励，

to help entrepreneurship and innovation flourish,

让创业和创新遍地开花，

as capitalism has done for centuries before.

正如资本主义在几百年前达成的效果。

This can already be seen in the digital context.

这在数字环境下已经有所显现。

Last year, NFTs generated over 24 billion dollars of sales.

去年，NFT 创造了 超过 240 亿美元的销售额。

The majority of that went to the creators and owners of these NFTs.

大部分所得直接归 NFT 的 创造者和所有者所有。

Web2 platforms, such as Spotify,

web2 平台，如 Spotify，

paid only a third of that to its creators in that same year.

去年只将三分之一的销售额 支付给了作品创作者。

George Washington famously wrote,

乔治·华盛顿有一句名言：

"Freedom and property rights are inseparable.

“自由和产权是密不可分的。

You can't have one without the other."

缺一不可。”

The same is true for the virtual realm.

在虚拟的世界中也是如此。

In order to ensure our digital freedom,

要保障我们的数字自由，

that we not be slaves to either platforms

确保我们不沦为平台 或未来某个 AI 的奴隶，

or any of the future AIs,

we must also have true digital property rights.

我们必须拥有真正的数字产权。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）