Discussing the possibilities of a diverse metaverse
The possibilities of the metaverse were the subject of discussion for the Future of Technology panel at Day One of the Women in Tech Festival last week.
Some of the panel were keenly aware of the commercial possibilities of the metaverse for women. Rachel Smith, Experience Director at Wunderman Thompson Commerce set out the view that the pandemic related boost in gaming demonstrated by the huge growth in platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite, and the fact that gamers tend to view their avatars as digital extensions of themselves has led to some well-known brands creating digital products. Smith cited the example of a digital only Gucci Dionysus bag which sold for more than $4000 on the Roblox platform in 2021, when the physical bag itself retailed for a little north of $3000.
Smith also raised the VR platform Decentraland, and the growing number of brands buying space in virtual shopping malls.
"There are opportunities for women there and retail linked jobs that we might never have thought of. There are opportunities in training too. Accenture have just purchased 60,000 Oculus headsets for training purposes, and BMW have created more than 30 digital twins of their factories," Smith said.
Other panelists, whilst appreciating long term potential, considered it very early days for the metaverse, (a fact underlined by the fact that nobody in the audience had a presence in it,) and noted the present lack of regulation.
Amadeep Sirha, Co-founder and Head of Delivery at Amarti, expressed concerns about virtual catfishing.
"The metaverse is still in its infancy although a lots already happened. You can be whoever you want to be so we have a new version of catfishing and there are some pretty dark sides to that. We need to be a little bit careful how we present ourselves and what situations we put ourselves in. There's not enough regulation there yet."
Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO and Co-Founder of Tapoly, was also concerned by the lack of licencing and regulation of the technology involved.
"Children and vulnerable individuals will be at risk in an unregulated environment. This needs to change before the technology is adopted more broadly rather than being considered afterwards."
A diverse metaverse?
In answer to an audience question about what some of the blockers to developing the metaverse are. Antje Bustamante, Director of Data & Analytics at Zoopla, emphasised the importance of diverse input into the metaverse.
"If we leave it to a group of non-diverse people to define what the metaverse looks like, we'll be having a panel in five years' time talking about all the problems of the metaverse. Independent and diverse voices need to be in the room and define the metaverse. This applies to any technology as much as AI but I really do believe that if the same people keep defining what that is then we will keep getting the same result."
Amadeep Sirha also emphasised the importance of focusing on the human beings underlying the technology rather than the technology itself.
One audience member raised the possibility of the metaverse itself acting as a gateway to greater diversity in technology by means of creating learning environments that feel safer and less intimidating than some traditionally male dominated physical spaces.
Antje Bustamante commented:
"I would have loved that when I was learning to code! We think a lot about the dangers of the metaverse because the world feels very unstable but learning happens so many different ways. The metaverse does offer options not just to women but neurodiverse people because they can learn in different ways and there is no judgement."
In answer to a question on whether emerging technology could rid technology of stereotypes and increase diversity, Janthana Kaenprakhamroy wasn't convinced.
"All the underlying data is biased," she commented. "When we can sort out the dataset and eliminate bias then we will be able to make technology more representative of the world at large."
The discussion concluded with a lively discussion on market trends and the types of skills that are likely to be required in the next three to five years. The panel shared a belief that data will be crucial, with businesses stopping being scared of their data or viewing it as a problem and becoming genuinely data driven, and automated, AI driven solutions being created based on data.
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