‘Metaverse’ a cause for concern
Afew weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, announced that he was changing his company’s name to Meta. The move was to boldly point to the future as he envisions it, a “metaverse,” instead of just social media “platforms,” as Facebook and Instagram are.
Many of us dismissed the talk about a metaverse, partly because most of us, I think, were not aware that the metaverse is being constructed by a number of companies and some basic parts of it are already here.
However, if Facebook/Meta has set the metaverse as its prime objective, and considering its global, dominating socioeconomic power and its amoral strategies, then we all must fear this development and we (observers, policymakers, educators, influencers and everyone else) need to have solemn conversations about what should be done about this — before it is too late.
First, what is this metaverse, anyway? To begin with, it is the internet turned into virtual reality, where instead of opening a webpage on a browser or an app on a smartphone, we wear Wi-Fi-connected glasses and enter a space of virtual objects, places and people. So, instead of writing a message, sending a voice note or video calling friends and colleagues, we set up a virtual meetup — each of us choosing whatever look and voice one prefers in the shape of an avatar. Our world is replaced by a virtual metaverse; reality becomes an old concept. Nicholas Carlson, editorin-chief of Insider, described the metaverse as a “cartoon world.”
Most importantly, as Facebook tries to do now with its online algorithm, Meta and other companies working toward this big goal will do everything to keep us inside the metaverse as long as possible — making it a giant jail.
What really concerns me is this almost nonchalant move to take our lives into a cartoon virtual world, where we replace ourselves with avatars and deal with each other through interfaces. It is true that we have already done this at some low level: Many people use pseudonyms and false or largely modified pics on social media; we use 3D views of our environment on Google Maps and Google Earth; and we connect with others and use goggles to play 3D video games online.
I see two big dangers looming with this metaverse if we do not take important steps and regulate its development before it explodes. One is the fact that the current digital, online world and its technology has already produced dangerous tools that can destroy lives: Hacking and data piracy, deepfakes, ransomware and the algorithms that boost hate speech and other evil behavior. The second danger is the loss of reality, the disconnection from the physical and human world: Going out, observing nature, interacting with animals, plants and trees, meeting people, and offering help.
We must not allow Facebook/ Meta and its ilk to transform/ruin our world and the next generation by turning it into a giant virtual landscape, totally controlled and manipulated for profit. The world must impose stringent ethical rules to safeguard our future from such dystopias.