The metaverse is still in its embryonic stage, noted Hagar Hajjar Chemali, YouTube Host and Creator, Oh My World! and Concordia Advisor. Brent Harris, Vice President of Governance for Meta, described how the metaverse is developing. It will be intraoperative in terms of its space and presence, and will not be built by any one company. Governance will be a crucial consideration going forward, explained H.E. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Co-Chair of the Oversight Board UK, Ltd. and Former Prime Minister of Denmark. We can no longer move fast and break things; we must make more principled decisions about incorporating community standards and human rights legislation.
Agreeing with the idea, Eric L. Kelly, Chairman & CEO of Overland Tandberg, noted that the metaverse means we are starting over again, so we have the opportunity to develop a global architecture of guardrails to remain on track. Chemali asked how we can avoid some of the abuse we have seen within other social media networks. Harris agreed that we need to be principled about privacy, opportunity, equity, and inclusion, and that this will require guiding principles and independent oversight from across the world.
Looking toward the future, Kelly showed optimism that we have an opportunity to get equity and inclusion right this time. Harris said he believes that breaking down physical barriers will make a big difference for those with disabilities and globally for education and training. Thorning-Schmidt concluded that the metaverse will provide lots of opportunities to feel that we are in the same room, but we must not leave our humanity outside.
“How do we walk that line of ensuring that it’s safe, it’s regulated [and] it is there for everyone to take advantage of and for the benefit of people, without over regulation?”
Hagar Hajjar Chemali, YouTube Host and Creator, Oh My World!; Concordia Advisor
“One of the things that I think is really exciting about the metaverse is that, because of that sense of presence, it breaks down physical barriers.”
Brent Harris, Vice President of Governance, Meta
“The metaverse is like starting the internet all over again. We should look at regulations as guardrails to ensure we are successful.”
Eric L. Kelly, Chairman & CEO, Overland Tandberg
“Human rights should be part of the consideration when we make decisions on content moderation.”
H.E. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Co-Chair, Oversight Board UK, Ltd.; Former Prime Minister, Denmark
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