The World Economic Forum, the Metaverse and Transhuman Agenda By James Reed
The World Economic Forum, and the big corporations, especially Big Tech, are pushing the metaverse idea, of human life becoming fully digital, where “our online identities, experiences, relationships, and assets — become more meaningful to us than our physical lives.” They are not kidding about this, with, as outlined below, the advocation of people having digital children, who have an on-line life taking form. As real children are expensive, and are carbon polluters, digital children who exist only in cyber-space, save money, reduce the dreaded carbon, and supposedly are as good as the real thing, as far as satisfaction goes. It is the beginnings of the transhuman agenda, the replacement of the physical human race by AI, realising dystopic sci fi horror movies. It is not all done overnight as the Dr Frankensteins working in labs for monkey money, but big hubris, need to keep supplying the technological black magic to keep this evil going.
“The World Economic Forum (WEF) and major corporations, following talks at last month’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, launched a new initiative: “Defining and Building the Metaverse.”
As the initiative’s name implies, its stakeholders are still in the process of defining exactly what the term “metaverse” means.
However, according to the WEF, in part, the metaverse involves a moment “at which our digital lives — our online identities, experiences, relationships, and assets — become more meaningful to us than our physical lives.”
One person involved in the talks, Julia Goldin, LEGO’s chief product & marketing officer, expressed optimism about how the metaverse could aid in children’s development:
“To us, the priority is to help create a world in which we can give kids all the benefits of the metaverse — one with immersive experiences, creativity and self-expression at its core — in a way that is also safe, protects their rights and promotes their well-being.”
While the talks focused somewhat on how to definitively define the term “metaverse,” there was also a great deal of focus on who should be involved in — and potentially profit from — its development.
Those involved in the talks positioned themselves to “develop and share actionable strategies for creating and governing” an “interoperable and safe” metaverse.
There also were extensive discussions on providing “guidance on how to create an ethical and inclusive metaverse, engaging organizations across the private and public sectors, including business, civil society, academia and regulators.”
The WEF described the initiative as “bringing together leading voices from the private sector, civil society, academia and policy” to “define the parameters” of the metaverse’s future development.
A May 25 session — “Shaping a Shared Future: Making the Metaverse” — included the following panelists:
- Chris Cox, chief product officer of Facebook’s parent company, Meta.
- Peggy Johnson, CEO of Magic Leap, describedby the WEF as “a spatial computing company building the next computing platform.”
- Philip Rosedale, founder of Linden Lab, which developed the “Second Life” virtual world, acquiredin April by Meta.
- Andrew R. Sorkin, financial columnist for The New York Times and co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
- Omar Sultan Al Olama, minister of state for artificial intelligence in the United Arab Emirates, appointed in 2017.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs who was formerly deputy prime minister of the U.K., said the “multistakeholder initiative” aims to assume a leading role in establishing and shaping the metaverse.
The WEF said early stakeholders will play a particularly significant role in this process:
“‘Defining and Building the Metaverse’ is the world’s foremost multistakeholder initiative to develop and share actionable strategies for creating and governing the metaverse.
“By providing a space for global leaders in industry, civil society and government, the initiative will share and accelerate insights and solutions that will bring the metaverse to life.
“By joining the initiative, members are playing a vital role in defining and building the metaverse.”
Building a ‘metaverse’ that hasn’t yet been definitively defined
Though as its name implies, part of the initiative’s goal is to define “metaverse,” the WEF did offer this highly broad, general definition:
“ … a future persistent and interconnected virtual environment where social and economic elements mirror reality. Users can interact with it and each other simultaneously across devices and immersive technologies while engaging with digital assets and property.”
This expands on the “simplest” definition of the metaverse provided by the WEF, which described it as “a unified and persistent virtual environment accessed via extended reality (XR) technologies.”
The WEF said the metaverse is most usefully seen “as a lens through which to view ongoing digital transformation,” based on the belief that “virtual worlds, incorporating connected devices, blockchain and other tech will be so commonplace that the metaverse will become an extension of reality itself.”
More specific definitions of the metaverse, however, “can develop in many ways, depending on research, innovation, investment and policy,” the WEF said.
According to the WEF, the metaverse “can be categorized into three schools of thought,” which include:
- The metaverse “as a product or service.”
- The metaverse “as a place where users can connect, interact, and transfer themselves and their belongings across multiple digital locations,” such as “gaming and creator platforms.”
- The metaverse as a moment “at which our digital lives — our online identities, experiences, relationships, and assets — become more meaningful to us than our physical lives” — a definition described by the WEF in its article as “compelling.”
Despite the WEF’s ambiguous definition of the metaverse as a concept, the organization is definite in predicting its impacts and its value for major (and real-world) corporations and businesses:
“This will have significant impacts on society. Just as the internet and smartphones transformed our social and commercial interactions, the metaverse could change the way people and businesses communicate, and operate, in innovative yet unpredictable ways.”
The WEF’s new initiative will focus on two key areas, or “action tracks:” metaverse governance, and the generation of “economic and societal value.” The WEF “will explore themes across regulatory frameworks, technology choices and economic opportunities.”
More specifically, “metaverse governance” refers to a commitment by members of the initiative to recommend “governance frameworks for interoperable, safe and inclusive metaverse ecosystems.”
According to the WEF, “this entails finding harmonization between regulation and innovation in order to develop interoperability while preserving user privacy and safety.”
In turn, “generating economic and societal value” will involve members of the initiative sharing and accelerating “insights and solutions that will bring the metaverse to life.”
The WEF said that “in doing so, they will map new value chains and business models across industries, identifying elements and use cases that provide economic opportunity.”
Industry ‘stakeholders’ eye profit-making potential of ‘metaverse’
The initiative’s “generating economic and societal value” action track belies what may lie at the heart of the WEF’s efforts to set the rules of engagement in the metaverse while it is still in its nascent state.
More than 60 corporate “stakeholders” have signed on to the initiative thus far, including several Big Tech firms, such as Meta, Microsoft, Taiwanese consumer electronics firm HTC, and Sony Interactive, accompanied by Walmart, the LEGO Group, as well as academics and representatives of civil society.
Many of these stakeholders may be enticed by the growth potential of the metaverse market, which Bloomberg predicted will grow to $800 billion by 2024.
Examples of this are already evident. For instance, according to the WEF, the popular Fortnite video game “sells over $3 billion of digital cosmetic items to players each year, making it a larger apparel company by sales than several global fashion houses.”
Given the market potential, it’s not surprising executives from several Big Tech companies, and from the WEF itself, warmly praised the WEF’s new initiative.
For instance, Jeremy Jurgens, the WEF’s managing director, stated:
“‘The Defining and Building the Metaverse’ initiative provides the industry with an essential toolkit for ethically and responsibly building the metaverse.
“This will help ensure that we can fully harness this vital medium for social and economic interconnectivity in an inclusive, ethical and transformative manner.”
Meta’s Clegg added:
“The metaverse is at an early stage in its development. Done well, the metaverse could be a positive force for inclusion and equity, bridging some of the divides that exist in today’s physical and digital spaces.
“That’s why the ‘Defining and Building the Metaverse’ initiative will be so valuable. It mustn’t be shaped by tech companies on their own. It needs to be developed openly with a spirit of cooperation between the private sector, lawmakers, civil society, academia and the people who will use these technologies.
“This effort must be undertaken in the best interests of people and society, not technology companies.”
Brad Smith, president and vice chair of Microsoft, remarked:
“While the metaverse is in its nascent stage, we believe it has the potential to deliver enhanced connections for everyone.
“As an industry it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure this new paradigm is developed in a way that is accessible for everyone, puts the needs of people first, enhances human connection and is developed securely with trust built in by design.”
Cher Wang, founder and chairwoman of HTC, described the metaverse as “inevitable,” saying:
“The metaverse is the next inevitable step in the evolution of the internet but will require comprehensive collaboration between all ecosystem stakeholders to make it an open, safe and secure environment.
“As such, this Forum initiative is a robust start to addressing the key technology and policy fundamentals to enable the metaverse to fulfill its boundless potential.”
Similarly, Magic Leap’s Peggy Johnson expressed excitement over the transformations the metaverse could deliver, including in areas such as healthcare:
“At Magic Leap, we are excited about how technologies like augmented reality will transform the way we live and work, especially in growing fields like healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector.
“To realize the potential of these technologies, a thoughtful framework for regulation that protects users and facilitates future innovation is required, supported by all stakeholders, including businesses, consumers, government, NGOs and academia.”
Yat Sui, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based game software company, described the metaverse’s potential in the realm of “digital ownership”:
“Animoca Brands is pleased to be a part of the inaugural metaverse initiative launched by the World Economic Forum and we look forward to a dialogue with our industry colleagues as we navigate the potential of true digital ownership in the open metaverse.”
Others, such as Dr. Inhyok Cha, CEO of South Korean IT service management company CJ Olive Networks and group chief digital officer of CJ Corporation, praised the WEF’s new initiative for its potential to help stakeholders overcome “unforeseen complexities:”
“The rapid advancement and adoption of the metaverse will create unforeseen complexities in terms of governance, ethics, social and industrial effects.
“Thus, the need for collective intelligence to anticipate, analyze, design, experiment on and constantly revise governance measures and frameworks will be crucial.”
Who will govern the ‘metaverse’?
Inhyok’s remarks reflect questions also acknowledged by the WEF about who will “govern” the metaverse, and in what manner.
Specifically, the WEF describes metaverse governance as “a multifaceted challenge which needs to consider interoperability, privacy, safety and security.”
According to the WEF, “real-world governance models” represent one possible option for metaverse governance.
However, far from referring to constitutionally defined institutions of governance, with checks and balances, the WEF cites Facebook’s “Oversight Board” as an example of such a “real-world governance model.”
However, according to the WEF, “not all legislators are satisfied” with such models, citing, for instance, new regulations such as the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which will police content moderation and “disinformation” on social media platforms.
Other potential governance models cited by the WEF include user-based systems modeled on blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Tech companies eager to develop the technologies of the future ‘metaverse’
For Big Tech companies, the potential profitability and revenue streams offered by the metaverse go hand in hand with the companies’ ability to develop the technologies that will be used to create the metaverse.
Indeed, the WEF tells us “major technology companies including Apple, Google, Meta Platforms (Facebook), Microsoft, Niantic and Valve are developing the tech that will shape the future of the metaverse.”
The WEF goes on to add that the metaverse will be shaped by three potential technological innovations, including “virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and brain-computer interfaces (BCI).”
While VR and AR may be familiar to many, BCI represents the most ambitious of these three technological tracks — and may belie the true intentions of the WEF and the “stakeholders” of this new initiative.
Specifically, BCI aims “to replace screens and physical hardware entirely.”
The WEF refers to technology such as Neuralink, that “requires neurosurgery to implant devices in the brain,” as an example of BCI.
Alibaba Group President J. Michael Evans during the meeting gushed over “individual carbon footprint trackers” — resembling “personal carbon allowance” technology previously reported on by The Defender.
Similarly, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark predicted that by 2030, “smartphones will be implanted directly into the body,” surely facilitating the expansion of the metaverse.”
https://nypost.com/2022/06/01/well-have-virtual-babies-within-50-years-ai-expert-predicts/
“If you thought the Tamagotchi Generation was a 1990s phenomenon, think again.
In the not-so-distant future, those looking to expand their families may opt to do so with the help of artificial intelligence.
The average American child costs parents more than $230,000 by the time they reach the age of 17, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
A digital kid, on the other hand, could have all its needs met for less than $25 per month — that’s just about $5,100 by the time they reach high school graduation — according to the UK’s leading artificial intelligence expert.
Amid poverty, disease epidemics, climate change and overcrowding, experts worry that the estimated 11 billion people that will populate Earth by 2100 won’t get the food, health care and other essential resources they need for survival. And that’s a real concern for would-be parents, according to a 2020 YouGov poll that found nearly 10% of adults have already chosen to remain childless for these reasons, while another 10% cited the financial impact of having kids.
“Based on studies into why couples choose to remain childless, I think it would be reasonable to expect as many as 20% of people choosing to have an AR [augmented reality] baby over a real one,” said Catriona Campbell, a former technology adviser for the British government and a British Interactive Media Association Digital Hall of Fame inductee.
This “game-changing” outlook “could help us solve some of today’s most pressing issues,” she said.
“Virtual children,” some experts believe, could supplant real ones — becoming commonplace by the early-2070s, Campbell told South West News Service. By combining computer-generated imagery with machines that can learn as humans do, virtual children that look like real ones would be able to recognize and respond to their parents, and simulate real emotional responses as kids do.
“Virtual children may seem like a giant leap from where we are now, but within 50 years technology will have advanced to such an extent that babies which exist in the metaverse are indistinct from those in the real world,” added Campbell, whose new book, “AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence,” is out this week.
The technology would be made possible with advances in artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology, including “touch-sensitive” gloves to help parents actually feel their children, and glasses to envision them in our real environment.
Campbell has dubbed this vision of the future family the Tamagotchi Generation — in a reference to the keychain toy of the ’90s made up of a tiny digital pet that owners were required to “feed, “play with” and even “medicate” on a regular basis. But in an advanced virtual reality setting, lifelike kids could grow and mature in realtime, and without putting stress on the natural environment and resources — the first truly eco-friendly kids.
“This will lead to the first, fully digital demographic which, although somewhat strange on first appearance, in fact represents what could be one of mankind’s most important technological breakthroughs since the advent of the Bronze Age given its potential impact on global populations and societal change,” she said.
The technologist also suggested that parental satisfaction could be even higher with virtual children — with more control over how their digital spawn is designed. Their lifespan could be preprogrammed, and exist in real time, or allow parents to “activate” them at their convenience, as children on-demand.
It may also serve as a tool for parents to test run having children before creating real ones, or help parents who can’t have their own find the family that otherwise would not have been possible.
“As the metaverse evolves, I can see virtual children becoming an accepted and fully embraced part of society in much of the developed world,” said Campbell.”
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