Metaverse has become a buzzword both inside and outside the Web3 world over the past year. Moreover, development in the metaverse is something that remains strong with the overall turmoil of the decentralized space.
It is also a hot topic at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 in Davos, Switzerland. WEF has developed its own initiative, “Define and Build Metaverse,” with the participation of over 120 participants, which held a press conference on January 18.
The WEF panel highlighted the initiative’s first two papers, covering interoperability, governance and the role of consumers in the future metaverse.
Huda Al Hashimi, one of the panelists and deputy minister of cabinet affairs for strategic affairs in the United Arab Emirates, created the future of the metaverse as a space to remove social barriers and not create the same problems.
“We have to ask why we are still stuck in the domain we want to break into. We believe that breakthroughs will happen.
Especially when it comes to government bodies that make their presence in the digital reality, Hashimi said that the vision of the initiative has reflected the role of the regulator.
“We also see that regulators will act more like referees than gatekeepers. The code of conduct will take precedence over policy formulation.
Governments around the world have been exploring the metaverse. The UAE in particular has launched a government-backed metaverse city in the country as one of its initiatives in digital reality.
The Norwegian government office has also opened a metaverse branch to cater to the next generation of users.
Cathay Li, head of Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment & Sport and member of the ExCom at the World Economic Forum Geneva, said that regulation and value creation are the two main issues that need to be understood for a digital reality that is useful for users.
“There is tremendous economic and social value. But if it is not regulated, there may be some problems in terms of privacy, safety and security.
Li said the metaverse shouldn’t be seen as the “end state” for all the work and development going on today. But it should be seen as a “continuous digital transformation” of human experience in digital reality.
In addition to governance ideas, the panelists touched on interoperability and creating user data in the metaverse.
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Siu Yat, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, noted that digital property rights are key to the interoperability needed in the next evolution of the metaverse. He said:
“If you don’t have judicial property rights, then you can have digital freedom – the freedom to transact because it’s always allowed. I think that’s the basis of making interoperability a benefit for everyone.
The three panelists have a five-year vision of a metaverse that is more integrated into our daily lives, along with a clearer governance structure. “The Metaverse will be a part of our lives whether we like it or not,” Hashimi said.
Yat closed by highlighting that the metaverse of the future will also generate new economies, which could be of a national scale.
“A new national economy will come out of the metaverse, like a real virtual society because of all the transaction value and all the trade that takes place.”
He particularly emphasized that with stronger digital properties, users will be able to have a stake in the new digital economy. Recently, McKinsey reported the metaverse could be worth $5 trillion in the next seven years.