WEF is partnering with dominating voices from the private sector, civil society, academia and policy to define the parameters of an economically viable, interoperable, safe and inclusive metaverse.

Defining and Building the Metaverse was launched at the annual four-day conference held by the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland in 2022. A wide range of stakeholders from around the world gathered with the intention of developing and sharing strategies for creating and governing the metaverse. The first results of this effort will be revealed in Davos, 2023.

This shared virtual environment known as the metaverse, is where social and economic elements mimic reality. People gather via the Internet in this highly immersive virtual world to socialize, work and play. The concept certainly sounds promising, which is why many technology companies are investing in developing it further. Games like Fortnite and Roblox, the online game platform and game creation system, are currently the closest thing we have seen to this broad concept of the metaverse.

This digital ecosystem is built on many types of 3D technology, real-time collaboration software and blockchain-based decentralized finance tools. Here, technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) combine to create the sense of a “virtual presence,” while engaging with digital assets and property. VR and AR platforms need platform governance in digital worlds to regulate behavior and content, as mentioned by Brittan Heller, an attorney specializing in technology and human rights.

Digital currencies are expected to play a role in the metaverse. Since there is an increased safety risk in the metaverse, finding ways to incentivize better behaviors and, perhaps, reward positive interactions may need to become a larger part of a safer digital future.

Updating laws to apply to digital content will be a key component of governing the metaverse. Many are advocating for similar laws and regulations to the real world, effectively criminalizing the same digital behaviors that are outlawed in non-digital environments. The rise of virtual currencies can be challenging when harmful activities such as the purchasing of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) are growing online. Also, cyber-flashing, a form of online abuse, and deepfake pornography, a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else, are major security and privacy concerns.

Metaverse governance needs to consider interoperability, privacy, safety and security. This requires harmonization between regulation and innovation, allowing the former while prioritizing the latter in order to prevent breach of confidentiality, integrity, or other aspects of security.

The WEF will recommend regulatory frameworks for good governance within the metaverse, and study how innovation and value creation can be strengthened to ensure it benefits both people and the planet.

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network is where governments, businesses, startups and civil society are brought together by the WEF to shape the governance of emerging technologies locally, nationally and regionally. The WEF wants to ensure that these new implementations of technology occur responsibly and equitably.

Sources: initiatives.weforum.org, www.weforum.org