Cevat Yerli, the Founder and CEO of The TMRW Foundation, captivated the audience at the SAMENA Leaders’ Summit 2023 in Dubai on May 15th, 2023, with a visionary keynote address and participation in a panel discussion held within the Digital Innovation Cluster. Yerli’s keynote speech, titled “A New Digital World of Possibilities: The Internet of Life™,” shed light on his ambitious vision for the future of communication and its potential impact on society.
Yerli, a trailblazer in the gaming industry whose former venture Crytek revolutionized the gaming industry and 3D graphics technology in the early 2000s, focused his talk on the future of communication, highlighting the upcoming transformation from two-dimensional web pages to interconnected three-dimensional spaces. He introduced his vision for this next generation of the web, the Internet of Life™, as a socially responsible mission aimed at empowering individuals and contributing positively to the planet. This mission draws inspiration from the immense power of reality, the way we meet, collaborate, communicate, and in principle how we experience togetherness on the internet.
The backbone of Yerli’s Internet of Life™ vision is proprietary technology known as RealityOS™. This cloud-based social 3D communications platform, backed by hundreds of patents and thousands of man-years of experience, provides developers, innovators, governments, and businesses of all sizes the opportunity to shape their unique visions for the Internet of Life™.
In Yerli’s view, the Internet of Life™ represents the third evolution of the internet, following the first phase of information sharing and the second phase of global connectivity. Its purpose is to bring people together in ways that transcend traditional online experiences. The first manifestation of this vision is an application called ROOM, a revolutionary 3D communications platform that brings virtual spaces to a new dimension. ROOM is inspired by the natural ways people interact, collaborate, and communicate, aiming to foster deeper levels of togetherness.
Accessible through any browser worldwide, this inclusive platform enables billions of people to connect without the need for additional devices or artificial representations of themselves. Although ROOM is available now, it serves as just a preview of the future possibilities that the Internet of Life™ can offer. Yerli shared further applications of the Internet of Life™ that have already been realized in the UAE, KSA and beyond.
Yerli emphasized that technology alone does not shape the future; instead, it is the collective efforts of people utilizing technology that create meaningful change. He stressed the importance of responsible technology development, ensuring that decisions align with the needs of society and future generations.
During the panel discussion at the SAMENA Leaders’ Summit 2023, CEO Cevat Yerli also shared his perspective on the distinction between the metaverse and the Internet of Life. Yerli emphasized that, while the Metaverse is centered around entertainment and escapism, the Internet of Life™ represents the future of communication and real-world connections.
Yerli concluded his keynote by inviting the audience to join him and his team in pursuing the immense ten trillion dollar opportunity presented by the Internet of Life™: “It’s about connecting people. In this case, it’s about bringing people together. For me, the Internet of Life™’s sole purpose is to enhance relationships between people across the world. Because we need communication. If you don’t get together, we can’t build a better world, it’s so fundamental to our DNA. We are social animals. When we are alone, we deteriorate, but when we get together, we improve and thrive. That’s human nature.”
