As the next generation of the Internet, the metaverse will profoundly shape future society, making it critical to come together to establish responsible norms today.
The World Economic Forum collaborated with more than 200 global organizations from business, government, civil society, and academia to forecast the outcomes of different choices.
Two new publications offer insight into how to address privacy and safety, and social impact.
The World Economic Forum’s Defining and Building the Metaverse initiative has identified the paramount considerations for building a responsible metaverse.
Two new publications, in partnership with Accenture, outline the potential unintended consequences of metaverse development, and present tradeoffs for companies and policymakers to consider in decision-making. These resources can be used jointly by businesses and policymakers as a guide for strategic and technical decision-making and policy choices.
"With a focus on privacy and safety and a recognition of the social implications and opportunities for value creation, these reports provide a roadmap for businesses and policymakers, guiding them towards informed decision-making that ensures positive, equitable outcomes in the metaverse's ever-expanding landscape," said Daniel Dobrygowski, Head of Governance and Trust, World Economic Forum.
Privacy and Safety: The initiative’s governance track has created a technically grounded, globally applicable resource - Metaverse Privacy and Safety - that explores privacy and safety protections for individuals in the metaverse. This includes risks during onboarding to the metaverse, considerations while in metaverse environments, and a special segment spotlighting the importance of children’s safety.
Most notably, this resource represents and combines broad and diverse perspectives, including consumer advocacy organizations, international policing bodies, safety commissions, and the world’s largest technology providers.
Social Impact: The initiative’s value creation track has published research – Social Implications of the Metaverse – which looks at the social implications of the metaverse across access and adoption of the metaverse, physical and mental health, diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability and economic empowerment.
In the future of the internet, everyone’s experiences will influence the fabric of our future society to an even greater degree than they do today, so all societal stakeholders can play in a role in ensuring individual experiences are as positive and equally distributed as possible.
