The Metaverse: Part 4
Who is in charge? And what exactly are “they” in charge of?
Well, it depends. And the answer today may not be the answer tomorrow.
Like any new invention or advancement, some of the metaverse technology and experience will be used for good, some for bad, and some for ways that are not yet determined. The systems that support a more equitable creation and distribution of the metaverse need to be running at the same speed and in conversation with the hardware and software that enable the technology. Without this coupling, a version (or infinite versions) of a dystopian metaverse seems likely. Now is the time to step in, add more chairs to the table, and truly build out the structures to make the metaverse a place we might all help author in the future.
The conceptualization, technology, development, and infrastructure needed for the metaverse to be possible are nascent, and the possibilities for where it might develop are infinite. While initial endeavors by companies like Meta have seemingly sputtered, many companies are ramping up investments in AI. Top tech companies, such as Google, Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft alone have invested an estimated $250 billion into AI. Some of the outputs of these investments are accessible to us plebs (such as VR sets from Meta and ChatGPT from OpenAI). While a lot of what the public has seen recently in AI advancements are cute robots learning how to play soccer or ChatGBT spitting out college essays, the truth is the industry is growing vast and fast, with little oversight or governance or ethical compass. Even in a recent 60 Minutes interview, Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, talked about the onslaught of AI coming to the world, and that there are a number of rules and regulations that need to be (but are not yet) in place.
Governance and oversight are big questions, as are the speeds at which humans can adapt to and constructively integrate AI with their lives. Right now, the metaverse in all of its iterations and possibilities is out of the reach and out of the near-term experience for most. A lot of the AI conceptualization sits in the gaming space, notoriously dominated by young men, and a continued lack of representation likely will lead to inequitable development of the metaverse in the future.
We need to have more than a passive, “Gee golly, look at that!” attitude toward the metaverse and its possibilities. If people are serious about access and opportunity, they need to be serious about the metaverse. What penance will we have to do if it stays in the realm it is today, a playground for the very few that have access to fancy equipment and broadband, understand tokens and blockchains and relish in the whimsy of the novel? If we are serious about access and opportunity, we need to be serious about infrastructure investments in broadband, wifi, education, and bridging the digital divide. And we need to be serious about engaging people to participate in the shaping of these new spaces.
Like any new invention or advancement, some of the metaverse technology and experience will be used for good, some for bad, and some for ways that are not yet determined. The systems that support a more equitable creation and distribution of the metaverse need to be running at the same speed and in conversation with the hardware and software that enable the technology.