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The World Economic Forum and major corporations last month launched its “Defining and Building the Metaverse” initiative, with corporate stakeholders jockeying for a role in defining, developing — and profiting — from the technology.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) and major corporations, following talks at last month’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, launched a new initiative: “Defining and Building the Metaverse.”
As the initiative’s name implies, its stakeholders are still in the process of defining exactly what the term “metaverse” means.
However, according to the WEF, in part, the metaverse involves a moment “at which our digital lives — our online identities, experiences, relationships, and assets — become more meaningful to us than our physical lives.”
One person involved in the talks, Julia Goldin, LEGO’s chief product & marketing officer, expressed optimism about how the metaverse could aid in children’s development:
“To us, the priority is to help create a world in which we can give kids all the benefits of the metaverse — one with immersive experiences, creativity and self-expression at its core — in a way that is also safe, protects their rights and promotes their well-being.”
While the talks focused somewhat on how to definitively define the term “metaverse,” there was also a great deal of focus on who should be involved in — and potentially profit from — its development.
Those involved in the talks positioned themselves to “develop and share actionable strategies for creating and governing” an “interoperable and safe” metaverse.
There also were extensive discussions on providing “guidance on how
to create an ethical and inclusive metaverse, engaging organizations
across the private and public sectors, including business, civil
society, academia and regulators.”...<<<Read More>>>...