Metaverse democratisation as a potential EA cause area

Abstract

In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced the creation of a software infrastructure for a virtual universe that can closely interact with the physical world called the metaverse. The metaverse offers tremendous opportunities for social life, education and work. It also offers opportunities for large-scale manipulation and engineering addictive dependence. This post argues that we may now be at a tipping point that decides whether we are steering either towards a utopian or to a dystopian future of hybrid virtual/physical realities. It encourages a discussion on the assessment of the problem and brainstorming of potential solutions.