Chanthou returns to his home in rural Cambodia after another long day at work. He works for a luxury clothing brand, but instead of making physical goods at the nearby Chanthou clothing factory, he designs and sells digital clothing for the company in the form of non-fungible tokens, abbreviated as NFTs. Her experience with Cambodian art, along with her creative talent, has helped create unique digital artifacts that are sold and traded in many decentralized virtual worlds, collectively called “metaverses.”
The above scenario is fictional, but it raises important questions: Is #TechForGood a utopian dream riding the tail of the latest trend, or does it depict real opportunities that can drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Furthermore, with approximately 2.9 billion people still lacking meaningful internet connection, what benefits does the metaverse offer for sustainable development?
In line with UNDP’s aim to advance inclusive digital transformation, emerging technologies are used as part of a holistic approach to ensure that everyone benefits from the changes they bring. In this light, there are both opportunities to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and risks that need to be managed to avoid digital damage and deepening inequalities.
Demystifying metaversion
The Metaverse is a growing network of virtual and augmented digital worlds that exist parallel to the physical world. Simply put, metaversion can be thought of as the next big, three-dimensional evolution of the Internet (which is part of the reason why this collection of technologies is usually referred to as “Web 3.0”).There are two broad models of metaversion – open and closed. Closed worlds are owned and operated by companies with a self-contained ecosystem or “walled garden”. Open worlds, on the other hand, are decentralized and divide ownership between users and contributors.
Digital scarcity and traceability are the defining features of the metaversion enabled by blockchain technology. This ability to create and sell “one-of-a-kind” digital assets – where the authenticity of the original creation can be proven – has led to an influx of non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) in the creative sector. While much of the momentum around NFT art could be a passing fad, underlying trends such as the ability to track and capture sales in digital markets may be around much longer.
Redoubling efforts to bridge the digital divide
As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, negative consequences grow with the digital divide. Despite the increase in income during the pandemic, the International Telecommunication Union reports that approximately 2.9 billion people – roughly 37 percent of the world’s population – still do not have access to the Internet. Of these, 96 percent live in developing countries. The report also states that globally, people in urban areas are twice as likely to use the internet as people in rural areas. In addition, there are significant gender gaps in access to digital technologies and skills, with 62 percent of men using the internet compared to 57 percent of women globally, and 31 percent of men compared to 19 percent of women in LDCs.
It brings views from the global south
Moving forward, there is a need for greater inclusion of diverse perspectives from the Global South in co-creation. Many established metaverse worlds have their origins in companies in the Global North, such as Meta, Epic Games, and Microsoft. The creators and participants of open metaverse worlds such as Decentraland, Sandbox and Voxels are also predominantly from the Global North. But as the millions of new Global South Internet users come online in the next decade, what will their virtual experience be like? Metaverse platforms that employ a more inclusive and diverse strategy from the start could benefit the most in the long run, as several studies on inclusive digital transformation have shown. Intentionally building and designing with values, perspectives and talents from the Global South can strengthen the engagement and value proposition of the various platforms of the metaverse.
Creating rights-based systems
As more and more people spend large amounts of time in digital and virtual environments, the introduction of a rights-based system is even more important.In these virtual, borderless and seemingly free worlds of the borderless metaversion, responsibility and respect for human rights must be a priority. Whether virtual or offline, UNDP is a strong advocate of a rights-based approach to development.
If emerging privacy, security and misinformation issues are not proactively addressed, they can harm both end users and the platforms themselves. UNDP intends to support governments in taking a proactive approach to protecting their citizens in the metaspace by respecting human rights. Similarly, UNDP can work with platform providers to thoughtfully and appropriately integrate a rights-based and user-centred approach into their systems.
Going back to the promise of the Internet during its early days, the metaverse may yet provide a platform for equalization for all. It will also mean ensuring the participation of vulnerable and at-risk populations by removing traditional barriers such as geography, ethnicity, economic wealth, among others. In this regard, UNDP supports the development of inclusive digital public infrastructure that empowers people to freely participate in development and chart a path to an inclusive and sustainable future.
Read Also: https://www.undp.org/blog/traversing-metaverse-whilst-managing-risks-opportunities
