Dystopian sci-fi is coming to life.

Here's the sci-fi part: Mark Zuckerberg is working on the Metaverse, a fully immersive augmented reality experience. If his vision comes true, you will be able to use your VR headset and travel Meta's virtual world as an avatar. You will be interacting with other people's avatars, buying virtual clothes. You will even be able to get married online.

Here's the dystopian part of this ordeal. Most of Facebook's critics think the Metaverse is just another scheme to get our time and money. Given Meta's record of knowing the damage its platforms causes and not doing anything about it, most people are siding with critics.

Firstly, safety has to be built into the Metaverse, a point Zuckerberg has emphasised. Unfortunately, Andrew Bosworth, Meta's Chief Technology Officer, says moderation of content in the Metaverse is practically impossible. Even if they tried to regulate, Meta would have to monitor every interaction in their virtual universe. Privacy is a huge concern here, especially if EMG, or electromyographic technology, is integrated.

EMG could detect and intercept nerve impulses and translate it into the corresponding signals in the virtual space. So the thought of moving your fingers is enough to send texts. The catch is, your brain activity will need to be monitored by Meta.

How much do you want to trust them?

Even scarier, have you seen the deepfake of Zelenskyy asking Ukrainians to surrender? Thankfully, people noticed glitches and realised the video was fake. But Meta is developing highly realistic avatars. Someone could impersonate you by customising their avatar to look just like you. If they carry out cybercrimes, you could be blamed. Getting hacked will be more terrifying than ever.

Additionally, cyber-bullying may only get worse. And not just because spending all of one's time on social media without interacting with real people makes one insensitive and narcissistic.

Augmented reality will make you feel like you are in the real world. WION reported that a woman's avatar was groped by another Metaverse user's avatar. When the woman asked the stranger to stop, he said it was the Metaverse and he could do whatever he wanted.

Then there's the concern about misinformation, fake news and propaganda. If people spend most of their life in the Metaverse, Zuckerberg essentially controls what they see. One who controls the flow of information controls the world. If someone controls the Metaverse... they can control our lives.

The people we meet, our relationships, will be decided by algorithms. The rise of dating apps correlates to the fall of long term-relationships. If one can look like however they want – be whoever they want – in the Metaverse, real life quickly loses appeal.

References

1. MrWhoseTheBoss on Youtube: (Nov 13, 2021) The Metaverse could be a problem

2. Moon on Youtube: (Dec 25, 2021) Metaverse: The Most Evil Business in the World

3. Meta: The Metaverse and How We'll Build It Together – Connect 2021

4. Gravitas Plus. (Jan 8, 2022) The Metaverse Explained

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