Christopher Lafayette is a well-known metaverse technologist and founder of Gatherverse. Founded in 2021, GatherVerse is a global virtual gathering that discusses humanity’s first standards in the metaverse. We had the pleasure of interviewing Christopher about Gatherverse, the future of the metaverse, and his role in shaping its future.
Hi Christopher, can you tell us about yourself and how you got involved in the Metaverse space?
“Hello, my name is Christopher Lafayette. Founder of Gatherverse. I’ve been a contributing member of emergent technologies here in Silicon Valley and globally for over a decade.”
“I have spoken at many dozens of events and advised hundreds of startups, corporations, and government agencies on the importance of inclusive culture in ecosystems and removing barriers to innovation. I’m such an advocate for humanity standards in technology.”
You are the founder of Gatherverse. What is Gatherverse?
“A series of global gatherings discussing humanity-first standards of education, safety, privacy, wellness, equality, community development, and accessibility in the next steps of the metaverse.”
Why did you create the platform? What were your inspirations behind it?
“I saw a critical need for going beyond the technical aspects of creating the metaverse to include humanity in the conversation about what it can and should be and how it could best benefit those who will ultimately inhabit it.”
You are also involved in several other projects in the Web3 space; can you tell us about them?
“Sure. We have a major summit this September that confronts Web3 sustainability called 3We.”
“Additionally, I’m the co-founder of Hip Hop Coins. We now live in a time of more expressions, greater expansions of art, and emerging technologies. We made a platform founded by designers, music lovers, and builders of technology.”
“Over the decades of growth of Hip Hop culture and the advent of Crypto Assets, NFTs, Blockchain FinTech, and the Metaverse, we were presented with the opportunity to bring them together into one.”
“Hip Hop Coins is our first early step to this. We’re currently building our first Virtual World based on music.”
How important are cooperation and the sharing of ideas for the Metaverse development?
“Communication is the greatest technology we’ve developed in 30 years. Collaboration and community development are key. We’ve developed great hardware and software community ecosystems for XR. We must go further.”
“These topics are still incredibly relevant, but the discussion of human-centered ideas for the metaverse is even more incredible.2
“We have an opportunity to guide the conceptual metaverse in such a healthier way than we have with Web 1 and 2. We are more familiar with the consumption of technical products, how they’re used, and ways they can become vital tools of betterment for civilizations.”
“As an exploring technologist, I’m becoming more mindful of that. We aren’t building the metaverse to escape reality. We use the metaverse as a tool to build a better existence in this reality.”
Will the Metaverse enhance collaborative experiences? What opportunities do you think that will present?
“Of course. The metaverse is the greatest collaborative inducing technology within the eco habitat itself. From its inception, the greatest intentional tool for business and non-business use cases within the metaverse is the ability or capability for collaboration.”
“The metaverse was made and is being made and built for great collaboration on a global scale where colleagues can architect, design, fashion, and build from wherever they’re at and be transported into a virtual mutual space for product development.”
“Product delivery teams are already finding great use in collaborating virtually, whether from their homes, offices, co-working spaces or even while traveling. The metaverse allows us to look at common objects in three-dimensional form and with great resolution.”
“To study these objects to build and to learn.”
“Imagine a new workforce being able to teleport onto a distant vessel or even a warehouse and begin learning how to train and study that environment in which they’ll be headed into to have a better understanding of how to operate this vessel or how better to understand the functioning of the machinery inside this warehouse.”
“The Metaverse allows us to build spaces where there is no space; it will enable us to expand our physical environments. Collaboration isn’t predicated on business only. You can imagine classroom projects, community gatherings, and more. We will see different manifestations of collaboration from home environments to offices, from offices to virtual worlds, and from classrooms to virtual worlds.”
Hw will the Metaverse onboard people into tech, will it create new opportunities for employment, etc.
“Exceptional talent is hard to find – let alone those that lead by example and raise the bar for the whole team. Technology requires diverse thought to drive innovation and hold market share.”
“The best technology is bred from innovative thought. Great talent makes or breaks an organization. This all starts with leadership and their commitment to creating environments for employees to succeed. Black and Brown’s communities are resilient.”
“They have spent centuries battling overt oppression.”
“Great technologists are hard to find and even harder to keep, especially those from underrepresented populations.”
“History proves that Black and Brown communities can thrive when presented with opportunities to grow. Enterprises building the metaverse will no doubt need a sustainable, scalable pipeline of high-quality talent with strong technical knowledge. “
“They’ll need employees with amazing soft skills and strong team mentalities. It requires employees with both peer support and career mentorship to foster a sense of community and inclusion and to facilitate career resilience and progression. We are approaching a major shift in the workforce due to emerging technological advancements.”
“COVID-19 and new generational thinking in the desire to cover actionable technical solutions and scalable success narratives for humanitarian and societal impact efforts for Black communities. This cataclysm of change called the metaverse ushers in a world of new opportunities for entrepreneurs and career-minded people from all backgrounds.”
“This shift also highlights several areas of technology that were once bleeding edge but are now moving from cutting edge to mass adoption. There is an opportunity to sustain and increase product demand by aligning the workforce with the trendsetters of mass adoption while simultaneously creating entrepreneurial leaders for new companies and expanded economies in XR.”
Do you believe that the Metaverse and its terms are far too confusing for the average consumer?
“This happens in any emerging sector of tech. It’s happening here to us. It may not seem like it, but this leads to a natural refinement process.”
“Many creatives and technologists talk over people’s heads with various terminologies. My Dad, a brilliant technologist, used to fuss at me when I didn’t simplify what I was saying. I learned it is almost rude not to explain what you’re saying.”
“We must be teachers, not just founders, artists, and DevOps engineers.”
What excites you most about the Metaverse?
“Accessibility for all.”
“Equality for all who want to build and enjoy it.”
“Universal education.”
“Universally safe.”
“An ecosystem of growth.”
“To build community…”
“To meet new explorers on the pioneer path in the forest. “
“To collaborate with them in building tools for our future technologists.”
“To pass an epic baton to the next generations.”
“The Future of Technology is in our Children.”
“Of the metaverse, through a machine and deep learning and from robots to crypto, we’ve walked through the door of industry 4.0 and are firmly on the other side of the digital transition an opportunity to build something better for the next generations.”
“Our children are the next pioneers, and the future of technology is in them.”
What do you want to achieve in Web3?
“A proof-of-memory intelligent blockchain that’s interconnected and woven through. A centralized metaversal system within the human brain that’s accessed biometrically and control-accessible through gestural command.”
“Or did you mean what I’d like to achieve this year?”
How can our readers find out more about you and your work?
“Hit me up on Linkedin. Or find me somewhere in the GatherVerse.”
