A teenager creates his computer avatar, in Madrid on January 23, 2022 @BelgaImage
Appearing in American science fiction works in the heart of the 80s, the term “metaverse” is increasingly used. It describes a virtual universe in which citizens fully immerse themselves by freeing themselves from material limits. Although we will still have to wait a bit before seeing it eventually appear in our daily newspapers, the metaverse is already asking questions, particularly of an economic, societal and health nature, addressed on Tuesday by several experts from UCLouvain.
A definite interest
The concept of metaverse does not date from yesterday: online games or virtual communities have been bringing Internet users together for more than 30 years, explains the director of the Game Lab at UCLouvain, Thibault Philippette. Collaboration between the main technology giants should accelerate its dissemination, knowing that it could allow companies to renew and diversify their strategies by constituting a «new consumer temple“, according to the formula of Ingrid Poncin, professor at the Louvain School of Management of the university.
«It will also be necessary for the promoters of the metaverse meet three challenges: preserving our democracies, preserving social ties and safeguarding the environment», Notes Olivier Servais, anthropologist at UCLouvain. «But if these pitfalls are avoided, the metaverse can bring real added value to our world, particularly to the education, leisure and culture sectors“. The business world, in particular with the organization of telework, as well as the world of marketing could derive a certain advantage from seizing these new virtual spaces.
Dreaded negative consequences
With the metaverse new challenges arise for the general public, starting with those already known in terms of cybersecurity. Its users could, like all Internet users, be victims of theft and collection of their data. The extent of these misdeeds would be multiplied in the metaverse, warns Axel Legay, professor at the Ecole polytechnique of UCLouvain.
The philosopher Mark Hunyadi believes that the appetite of the technology giants (GAFA) could have a terrible impact on the development of the men and women of tomorrow, enclosing them in bubbles and further reinforcing their individualism at the expense of their social skills. «There is a desire to create a space that frees us from the resistance of the world. It’s about going somewhere without going anywhere, while extending our desire according to our imagination, which is infinite.warns the professor. «Should we be afraid of it? No, but you have to be wary of it and quickly find answers and control tools».
And that’s not to mention the risks of additional addictions for generations already addicted to screens. In the future, with a metaverse increasingly prevalent in our societies, some may have difficulty understanding that there is still real life, in a physical world, warns the head of psychiatric emergencies at the Saint-Luc University Clinics, Gérald Deschietere.