--- title: "Interesting Theory: Mark Zuckerberg Is Trying to Become God and Build Heaven" description: "According to this technologist, Facebook-turned-Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg isn't trying to revolutionize work. He wants to be the god of a digital heaven." date: "2022-10-27" modified: "2022-10-27" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/theory-mark-zuckerberg-build-heaven" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "metaverse" - "zuckerberg" --- # Interesting Theory: Mark Zuckerberg Is Trying to Become God and Build Heaven ![According to this technologist, Facebook-turned-Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg isn't trying to revolutionize work. He wants to be the god of a digital heaven.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* When Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg [first declared]() his metaverse vision, he was immediately met with a "nobody asked for this" energy from the general public. Virtual reality, which his vision is absolutely dependent on, isn't exactly that mainstream, and the tech was — [and still is]() — far from what it needs to be in order to offer users a truly immersive experience. Fast forward about a year, a few high profile collaborations, another Meta Connect conference, and $15 billion later, the [legless public]() is still asking similar questions. The tech just isn't there yet, and neither, it seems, is the [public desire to participate](). We have social media, we have Zoom and Google and Slack for work, and so on. Where do we need to revolutionize connection, why do we need a new-new future of work? According to technologist Emily Gorcenski, to actually understand the Facebook Overlord's metaverse push, we have to stop asking ourselves what *we* might be asking for. The metaverse isn't about us — it's about Zuck himself, who in her eyes isn't just aiming to solve hard compression or legless avatars or other hardware and software hurdles. He wants to solve the problem of his own mortality, and he wants to do so by literally building heaven. "To understand the Metaverse," Gorcenski wrote in a [fascinating Twitter thread](), "means you have to understand that rich techno nerds genuinely believe they will be able to upload their consciousness before they die." "The Metaverse isn’t being built to revolutionize remote working. It's being built because they need to believe they can build heaven," [she continued](). "You know who builds heavens? Gods." While that might sound extreme, it's not *that* outlandish. The rich and famous have long been known for their obsession with eternal life, and those efforts, whether myth or reality, have [pretty much always]() been connected to technology and those who build it. Billionaire Peter Thiel has allegedly [given some thought]() to seeking life-extending blood transfusions from young people. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is actively funding [immortality tech](). And now Zuckerberg, who's spent most of his life turning humans into datasets, seems like maybe he too wants his consciousness to exist forever in a digital world of his own design. A Zuckerbergian quest to become a digital deity would certainly outdo his colleagues' feeble little alleged dreams of pushing their mortal little bodies a few years further down the real-life line. And of course, to be a god, you need subjects — a detail that Gorcenski also addresses in her argument, proffering the dark theory that "in Digital Heaven, better rewards could be given to those who contributed more data and effort to keep heaven running." "Therefore," [Gorcenski added](), "you have to do everything in your power now to make \[Digital Heaven\] a reality." Given that Facebook [pioneered datamining](), that's not the craziest thought. Now, if you're thinking, "I would never be a mortal in Zucko's bonkers pixelated afterlife," it could be argued that bits and pieces of this theoretical digital future are already playing out, in varying degrees, among the masses. Just look at the contemporary beauty industry, which has somehow become a version of augmented reality unto itself: today's filtered, synthetic standards — which notably proliferated on Instagram, an app owned by Meta and thus part of the Zuckerverse — are as inextricably obsessed with forever youth as they are with the [unreal sameness of the digital world](); faces and bodies are molded and modified in order to comply with digital demands, and less so for those of any non-virtual reality. A photo, after all, is forever. Would one's perfected digital existence in the metaverse not be a natural next step? And if you want an even more literal example, take "[grief tech]()" startups, which have already [offered real people]() the opportunity to turn themselves into an undying, interactive algorithm after death. Sure, these companies are far from being able to upload users' actual consciousness, but a version of immortality is inherently the goal. If Zuck can build the platform — in other words, the heaven — these apps would surely help occupy it. Meanwhile, other AI startups are already attempting to [bring famous people]() back from the dead. Of course, this is all a bit of psychoanalysis, and we're almost sure that Zuckerberg isn't standing up in Meta meetings and proclaiming himself to be their immortal lord. Almost. But the desire to live forever appears to be written into Silicon Valley's DNA — and that in mind, the creation of a digital afterlife may have always been inevitable. "The cruelest thing that can happen to Zuckerberg," [wrote Gorcenski](), "is that he dies, like a normal person, like all the rest of us." **More on the metaverse:** [*Facebook Investor Warns Zuckerberg That Metaverse Investments Are "Terrifying"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()