The World as an Interface: Exploring the Ethical Challenges of the Emerging Metaverse

Abstract

Mixed reality is emerging as the next phase of personal computing. Once Apple Glass is released augmented and mixed reality will go mainstream and the impact on our behaviour will be as dramatic as when the iPhone was released. In parallel, what used to be 2D webpages are becoming 3D worlds, collectively forming a meta universe of virtual or mixed reality domains -the ‘Metaverse’. Mixed reality is precisely where the best affordances of the digital and analogue worlds should work together to create entirely new interactive learning, social and economic opportunities. In this paper we reflect on how the physical world will itself become an interface making reality even more machine-readable, click-able, and searchable. We further propose how society will need to ensure that the appropriate boundary management is in place to allow us as co-creators of the metaverse to protect our ethical rights of privacy, integrity, and autonomy.