Climate Change and the Metaverse: embracing the opportunities while safeguarding against the dangers of a virtual universe

Murphy, Ash ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2913-7679 (2024) Climate Change and the Metaverse: embracing the opportunities while safeguarding against the dangers of a virtual universe. In: 8th International XR-Metaverse Conference 2023, 28 June 2023 - 30 June 2023, Las Vegas, USA.

Accepted Version File will be available on: 23 January 2025. Available under License In Copyright. Download (265kB)

Abstract

The metaverse is coming and we must be ready, for a failure to safeguard against the potential dangers inherent to this technology could be catastrophic. In the first instance, the metaverse represents a revolutionary change from Web2 to Web3 technology and with this comes the possibility of increased energy consumption. Commensurate to this is an emissions output increase, one that humanity can ill afford at this late stage in the climate change fight. Moreover, the metaverse while offering benefits to sectors like education and training, also offers the chance for manipulation and corporate steering. If we want to harness the positive attributes of the metaverse it must be with a sense of pragmatic regulation and so it is argued that a technology charter is required to ring fence certain ideals key to climate and human society alike.