The metaverse is an emerging technological concept centred around virtual and augmented reality. It tantalisingly offers humans the prospect of an unprecedented digital escapade – one that boasts greater expanse, interactivity, and intensity than any prior experience.
However, lurking beneath this alluring veneer is a dark underbelly. The metaverse has the ominous capability to become a breeding ground for censorship, unbridled surveillance, and an insidious form of digital enslavement, surpassing anything humanity has ever encountered.
If people increasingly immerse themselves in the metaverse, integrating it into every facet of their lives, they inadvertently open themselves up to manipulation by those who wield technological control. This potential dependency raises the spectre of a dystopian scenario where the very virtual realm designed to liberate morphs into a digital prison, with its inhabitants confined and subjugated.
This technology is still in its early stages of development, and its potential to either enhance digital opportunities or devolve into a digital catastrophe remains uncertain.
Interestingly, the World Economic Forum (“WEF”), a prominent international organisation known for its advocacy of digital censorship and surveillance, is already taking steps to assert its control over this emerging digital frontier.
Klaus Schwab, the founder and chairman of the WEF, succinctly conveyed the organisation’s ambitions for the metaverse during a speech in February 2023 at the appropriately titled World Government Summit. In his address, Schwab proclaimed that those who gain mastery over new technologies, including the metaverse, will wield a significant degree of influence over the world’s affairs.
“We are at the beginning, when you look at it, at technology transformation, it usually takes place in the terms of an S-curve. And we are just now where we move into the exponential phase. And I agree, artificial intelligence, but not only artificial intelligence, but also the metaverse, new space technologies, and I could go on and on, synthetic biology. Our life in 10 years from now will be completely different, very much affected, and who masters those technologies, in some way, will be the master of the world.”—Klaus Schwab.
Schwab and his organisation are employing a recognisable strategy to assert their dominance over the metaverse.
They engage in collaborative efforts with both the public and private sectors, orchestrating initiatives that further the WEF’s agenda. This subtle manoeuvring enables them to progressively amass control and wield influence.
At the forefront of the WEF’s metaverse endeavours lies their primary initiative, aptly named ‘Defining and Building the Metaverse’. Initially, the organisation made no attempt to conceal its intentions of leveraging these partnerships to establish a form of governance over the metaverse.
A previous iteration of the initiative’s webpage stated its mission as, “to formulate and disseminate actionable strategies for the creation and governance of the metaverse.”
This language has subsequently been substituted with a more subdued mission, which now aims to “facilitate the progress of a secure, interoperable, and economically feasible metaverse.”
The initiative has already forged partnerships with over 150 prominent entities, encompassing corporate giants, government bodies, and international organisations.
Among these partners are Meta, Microsoft, Sony, HTC, and Magic Leap, which stand as key manufacturers of virtual and augmented reality hardware essential for metaverse interaction. Notably, both Meta and Microsoft staunchly advocate for online censorship.
Furthermore, a number of private sector factions and government representatives associated with censorship have also become involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment