Building Worlds and Connecting Souls: A Conversation with Philip Rosedale Founder and CTO of Second Life
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, few names carry the weight and visionary brilliance of Philip Rosedale — the pioneering mind behind Second Life. As the founder and now returning CTO of Linden Lab, Philip has not only imagined but actively engineered a future where creativity, human connection, and community reign supreme.
In this exclusive interview with OTS Magazine, Philip offers a rare and thought-provoking glimpse into the inspirations that sparked Second Life, his vision for its evolution, and the profound lessons he's learnt from decades of leading in virtual innovation.
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| Photo Credit| Philip Rosedale |
From the integration of AI and spatial audio to the future of digital identity and ethical governance in immersive worlds, Philip’s insights are as timely as they are timeless. His unwavering commitment to bottom-up community building and to fostering spaces that heal and empower sets a bold standard for the next era of the internet.
Join us as we delve into the mind of a true digital architect — a conversation that transcends technology and speaks to the very essence of human connection in a virtual age.
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| Photo Credit| Linden Labs |
As one of the pioneering minds behind Second Life, what initially inspired you to create a virtual world so deeply rooted in user-generated content and social interaction?
Since I was a kid, I dreamed about what would happen if people could build anything they wanted in a digital world with its own currency and laws of physics. I wondered what would happen – what that place would come to look like.
With your return as CTO, what are the key innovations or developments you envision implementing in Second Life’s future?
Browser-based access, because many people wanting to use SL don’t have graphics cards or fast computers. Modernizing the now-20-year-old software without breaking anything.
In an era where the metaverse is evolving rapidly, how do you see Second Life differentiating itself from newer platforms and maintaining its relevance?
By remaining more open, more expressive, and more unlimited.
AI and virtual reality are advancing at an unprecedented rate. How do you foresee these technologies integrating with Second Life in a way that enhances user experience while maintaining its core values?
It’s a tough problem and two different issues:
- With VR, the problem is that virtual reality headsets are still widely disliked and problematic.
- They don’t feel safe or comfortable to use, particularly for women.
- We can’t fix these hardware problems – we will have to wait for solutions.
- With AI, the challenge is that SL is all about connecting people to other people, not about taking them away from each other.
- Some uses of AI – like creating virtual romantic partners – are destructive to human relations and go against our core mission and values.
- Other uses of AI, such as helpers or therapists, or even virtual replicas of you that stay alive when you are offline – might make sense.
- We’re not sure yet and are cautious.
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| Photo Credit| Linden Labs |
I completely agree with you. What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt about digital economies and virtual entrepreneurship from observing Second Life’s marketplace over the years?
The value of a currency is set by the things people use it for, not by its scarcity. We’ve successfully kept the value of the linden dollar stable for 20 years – better stability than most real-world currencies!
Second Life has built a strong, dedicated community over the decades. What role do you think long-term digital communities play in shaping the future of the metaverse?
The ‘social media’ phase of the internet (2005 to today) has been about exploiting people by aggregating content at central chokepoints that create excess consumption and monetize it with surveillance advertising. That internet is collapsing now. The next phase of the internet will rise, bottom-up, from the ashes. Communities will control it completely. Second Life is proof that bottom-up communities – groups and neighbourhoods – can function effectively and actually cause positive social experiences to dominate.
As virtual spaces become more immersive, do you believe there are ethical concerns we should be addressing in their development and governance?
Yes. Virtual worlds should build trust between people, not destroy it as has been the case with social media. This can be done by avoiding any kind of surveillance advertising (so there is no profit in making people hate each other) and by building the right kind of pseudonymous identity so that actions have consequences without requiring central governance or violations of privacy.
With the rise of AI-generated content, do you see a shift in the balance between human creativity and automated assistance within Second Life’s creator ecosystem?
I actually think the appeal of content in SL as well as everywhere else (music, movies, art) is driven by the individual stories of the human creators, and AI will be surprisingly ineffective in replacing it.
AI can now generate songs as technically ‘good’ as Taylor Swift, but I notice she hasn’t been replaced.
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| Photo Credit| Linden Labs |
How does Second Life continue to attract new users while keeping the experience fresh and engaging for long-time residents?
This is a very difficult problem. Long-time residents in SL, just like long-time residents in real-world locales, settle into behaviour patterns that aren’t always appealing to newcomers. The new people coming in need to be of value to the older people that are already there. One way this happens in SL is because of the economy – existing residents want to sell things to new ones.
If you were to rebuild Second Life from the ground up today, what fundamental changes (if any) would you make based on current technological advancements?
It’s been 20 years, so almost everything would be different: The smallest building blocks would probably be tiny ‘splatts’, for example, rather than solid shapes.
Probably everything rendered in the cloud rather than on the desktop. Spatial audio everywhere. Content creation done with prompts rather than 3D building tools.
Virtual economies have become a significant part of online platforms. Do you foresee a future where virtual currencies like Linden Dollars integrate more seamlessly with mainstream financial systems?
Yes. That was the plan all along, and we’re already pretty close with the LindeX exchange. But the currency can still be made more easily converted into other currencies.
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| Photo Credit| Linden Labs |
High Fidelity introduced innovative spatial audio technology—how do you see this technology influencing the future of virtual interactions, both within Second Life and beyond?
Spatial audio is crucial for future work because it makes it much easier to hear people in groups talking at the same time. We’re already working on it.
Your work with High Fidelity has explored new frontiers in immersive audio and digital communication. Are there any lessons from that project that you hope to bring into Second Life’s evolution?
Non-verbal communication (facial expression and body language) is key to building trust.
As mobile accessibility becomes increasingly important, what steps are being taken to ensure Second Life can be experienced across a broader range of devices?
This is a very positive use of AI – we will use it to allow text-to-speech and speech-to-text captions and language translation everywhere. Anyone will be able to talk to anyone in any language.
The concept of identity in virtual spaces is evolving. How do you view the role of avatars and digital personas in self-expression and online relationships?
Nonverbal communication needs to work – this is the next big breakthrough.
Many people use Second Life for escapism, creativity, and even personal healing. Have there been any particularly moving stories from the community that have resonated with you?
More than I can count, and more tears reading emails than I can remember.
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| Photo Credit| Linden Labs |
As we reflect on this inspiring conversation with Philip Rosedale, it’s evident that his vision for Second Life is not just about technology — it’s about people, purpose, and the extraordinary potential of digital connection. From reshaping identity and interaction to safeguarding human creativity in the age of AI, his insight is a timely reminder of what virtual spaces can truly become when built on intention. We invite you to stay curious and follow along through the links below to stay updated on Philip’s ongoing work and the evolution of Second Life. The future, as always, is being shaped in real time — and you're very much a part of it.
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Linden Labs - Website
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Interviewed By Linda Bella- OTS Magazine UK
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