What are the main risks of the Metaverse?
The internet in the upcoming years promises some interesting, and unbelievable aspects for society, but also rings the alarm against the risks that can come along like a dark side of the metaverse.
Now when the topic of the Metaverse comes into talk, the question “what it is?” has been too common, and there are hundreds of answers to it with repetitive definitions. Even we at Wow have talked about the introduction of the 3d virtual world and took you on a full tour in the metaverse through our blogs.
Along with its introduction, one thing that people should be aware of and should question more to the CEOs or owners should be “what are the risks of the metaverse?”
No doubt metaverse will help all of us to grow professionally and make us more interactive on ground levels. It will let us expand our horizons, travel anywhere we think of, and meet amazing people. However, it will also bring risks associated with it.
Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for human rights while talking about the metaverse in 2019 said: “At its best, the digital revolution will empower, connect, inform and save lives. And at its worst, it will disempower, disconnect, misinform and cost lives.”
And “at its best” can not be taken at the cost of getting okay with “at its worst”.
Now the time will be the answer if this virtual revolution will lead us with love, valuable information, and connection. Or will it drag us to several potholes of that space? The latter, we fear.
Let’s jump into the topic and break down the complex risks associated with metaverse:-
As the rise of social media has grown in years, we’re well known about the impact it puts on society on a daily basis. The misinformation spreads fast as fire in the woods, and alone Facebook has a bad record of spreading fake news. The manipulation among the youth or a certain group of society through fake propaganda is ubiquitous on the internet. And metaverse is just an extension of the internet. The Meta’s metaverse is not the only virtual world everyone will be in, they’re just the biggest one right now in the race to the future. It is just a collection of software on the internet, anyone can build their digital virtual universe the same as a website.
The internet to date exists in this world, so we have cyber laws and human rights. Anything that happens on the internet, has a proper solution to date, what about metaverse? Will the virtual space have any laws and regulations? The lack of proper laws on metaverse can cause serious issues like property ownership, and privacy concerns.
As technology has advanced, the number of crimes and frauds has also risen, and now as it advances to another space, the risks can only be imagined. You must have already noticed what a mere comment on a social media post can do to one’s mental health. It is considered a cybercrime. Imagine that happening to you when you are sitting at home, trying to be in the “real reel world”.
It will not only affect you mentally but also physiologically, and can lead further too. When your mental health isn't at peace, it tends to somehow physically hurt you. There are no defined laws as of today of what exactly happens to someone. There is no limit in the actions, and therefore no consequences as well. The physiological harm can be intentional or unintentional, and getting connected at an extreme level in the virtual world can affect your action here in this world. Talking about balancing life in both worlds will be another mental challenge. People who have experienced the virtual world have talked about losing the track of time.
If you haven't heard about the blunder of data theft by Facebook, then you are indeed living under the rock as of now. A recent report showed that Facebook stores its user data. If one app can harm your personal life so much, by giving you notifications of the things you were discussing. Ads all over the internet, on all social apps that you searched, or about what you were talking to your friend on the so-called end-to-end encrypted messaging app. Then imagine what would happen when you hand over your whole life to a system of software, the metaverse.
Any app that sells you stores your data, as simple as that. They need to save your data to show you the relevant ads and everything else. And as metaverse is claiming to be your one stoppage for all the emotional, personal and financial help, the scale at which the data would be stolen is unmeasurable. The more you will be available in various spaces and avatars, the more chances are to get hacked. Cybersecurity would be too fragile to break into anybody’s system. You'll be able to copy anyone. And as Dwight said, ”identity theft is not a joke, but a crime indeed”. People with trendy fashionable avatars can easily be copied, and mishappening can be there.
Melanie Subin, director of consulting for the Future Today Institute(FTI) says identity theft with the amount of personnel data collected will be greater than anything we’ve seen today. And stating it as a playground for hackers she continues, “your home, your face, your health, and everything can be accessed, and fraudsters can misuse your attributes and personal assets.
Machines are getting smarter, are we humans too?
At times where on one side, the creators are showcasing it as a big global village. On the other hand, a few critics are also calling it a loss of autonomy and privacy at a greater level. It has also been defined as the “end of civilized society” by a few critics inspired by the 1992 “Snow Crash”. But, every technology defines its pros and cons and how it will be used for society with time and its application.
We at Wow look at it as a Utopian place, full of opportunities, a platform for brilliant minds to come together at a place, to create a better place for its users. Despite all the possible consequences, we have tried to build up India’s no. 1 safest metaverse space for you all. We don't want any of you to be deprived of the latest technology, grow with your community.
So, connect with us, a place with all the miraculous adventures and digital delights to make you feel whatever, wherever you want to be at any time.
WoWExp Technologies, making virtual life a real one.
Hemant
Writing to learn new things everyday, and not go insane in this pandemic simultaneously.
