While the metaverse is still a nebulous concept, experts describe it as the inevitable evolution of the Internet, the future of social media and the convergence of physical and digital realities. Regardless of the exact definition, tech giants, including Google, Microsoft and, of course, Meta, recognize its potential and continue to invest billions of dollars in capitalizing on these emerging markets. Nevertheless, despite the innovations that will likely come out of the metaverse, those who construct these hybrid worlds must do so responsibly and ethically, ensuring that their creations do not negatively impact consumer wellbeing or infringe upon human rights, user privacy and security.
Five technology trends behind the metaverse
Like how the Space Race created many new advancements, from solar panels to shock absorbers, these technology trends will undoubtedly contribute to modernizations in many other industries beyond and in close proximity to the metaverse. Technologies essential to many of the core functions of the metaverse are:
#1: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
VR is more immersive, creating a 3D interactive environment; as for the latter, consumers will remember Pokémon Go, a form of AR or a digital layer over the top of the real world. Meanwhile, VR is built on creating completely brand-new virtual spaces isolated from our current real life. This endeavor is complex and costly to scale but enables new opportunities. On the contrary, AR can bring significant value-add to our real-life experiences - e.g., increasing retail sales by enabling real-time hyperspecialized recommendations at brick-and-mortar locations.
#2: Blockchain
Another trend is blockchain technology, which forms the bedrock of the metaverse, enabling most of its applications. Without blockchain technology, things like interoperability, accessibility and digital ownership verification would not be possible.
#3: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence will likewise play a significant role in the metaverse - especially on the gaming side of these worlds. Companies - startups or established players - will strive to refine their AI solutions, as it is the primary enabler of things like chatbots, computer vision and life-like metaverse avatars.
#4: Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things is critical to the growth of the metaverse. IoT-connected devices, which will reach an impressive 29 billion by 2030, will be a pillar of the metaverse infrastructure, helping virtual spaces effortlessly access and interact with the real world.
Future risks associated with the metaverse and its technologies
While the metaverse will bring about valuable transformation for humankind, it will just as quickly open new pathways for potential risks. These risks are far-reaching, from endangerment to physical and mental wellbeing to inclusivity and ethical issues. Plus, there are privacy concerns – AR and VR technologies, for example, would give corporations new and significantly more intrusive ways to bombard users with highly-tailored marketing material.
Moreover, the metaverse will impact the human brain in unprecedented ways. When immersed in virtual reality, the brain functions differently, producing more alpha brainwaves and fewer beta waves. Likewise, hippocampus activity, the area responsible for spatial orientation and new memory, gets reduced by 60% when interacting with augmented and virtual realities. These extended realities also cause hyperarousal, amplifying positive and negative experiences. From a mental health perspective, this hyperarousal is particularly concerning. Should someone linger in the metaverse for too long, proper hydration, sunlight exposure and real-world relationships could all become compromised.
The metaverse will also present ample opportunities to manipulate human behavior. Already, businesses use consumer preferences and purchase history to create targeted advertising. However, the metaverse technologies of the future could eventually enable biometric psychography. The VR headsets will be able to track bodily indicators that happen involuntarily in response to stimuli, such as pupil dilation, galvanic skin response, EEG or heart rate. That can tell you whether or not somebody is telling the truth or whether or not somebody is physically attracted to the person that they're seeing. We are quickly entering a realm where our thoughts and intentions are substantial data sets with unprecedented commercial value.
This advanced profiling targets the consumers' desires in ways that violate mental privacy and personal autonomy. Although these concepts may sound like outlandish ideas from a science fiction movie, the World Economic Forum details a chilling hypothetical scenario. Imagine a man playing a game in virtual reality for twenty minutes. A couple of months later, he wants a new insurance policy, but he gets immediately denied. After going to court, the investigation discovers that while playing that game in the metaverse, the game developer sold his biometric data to the insurance company. From examining his information, they saw that he had a predisposition for mental illness and other neurological diseases. As a result, they choose to refuse him, including his family, because they share the same genetics.
Can the metaverse become more responsible?
Throughout history, laws and regulations have always had to adapt to technological changes. In the US, for example, the court ordered that a defendant remove a defamatory post on Facebook. In South Africa and other countries, tweets can be considered and tried as hate speech. And in the Netherlands, two minors were even convicted of stealing virtual property from another user. Of course, there will be issues of anonymity, which could allow users to violate human rights in the metaverse without real consequences. Policy and lawmakers will need to decide if users should provide personal information, such as residential addresses, for the sake of accountability but at the risk of exposing private data to other malicious actors. Moreover, there is a fear that the metaverse will become like social media platforms, where free speech gets policed by politically motivated corporations.
In the meantime, each business must take a proactive role in shaping a responsible metaverse. Passive customers could be especially susceptible to the potential risks of the metaverse. Keeping consumers safe and aware of how their data might get collected will positively influence their decisions. In the same way, businesses should closely collaborate with entities like universities, regulatory bodies and researchers to establish preemptive frameworks. The earlier this conversation starts, the better.
Conclusion
Though we are still unclear about what the metaverse is - especially where the latest technology trends will take it one, two or ten years from now - we shouldn’t get too flustered, as speculation can only take us so far. In his sci-fi novel Dune, Frank Herbert writes that “the mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. A process cannot be understood by stopping it - understanding must move with the flow of the process.” While we must prepare as best as possible to ensure a responsible metaverse, we won’t know how to address future challenges until they come to fruition. Endless worrying about what will or won’t happen will not make our efforts to build a safer metaverse more effective.
