|
by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
June 02, 2022
from
ChildrensHealthDefense Website
This is a must-read article in the advancement of pure Technocracy,
aka "the science of social engineering."
A false reality is being
created is being created for the whole world, where people can be
completely brainwashed, manipulated and controlled.
The World
Economic Forum is totally committed to the Metaverse.
If you are unclear what the Metaverse entails, you must learn now.
It is the most dangerous technological event in history, and is a
clear and present danger to all children and most adults.
Source
WEF Launches 'Metaverse' Initiative,
Predicts Digital Lives Will
Become
'More Meaningful to Us Than Our Physical Lives'.
The World Economic Forum
and major corporations last month
launched
its
"Defining and Building the Metaverse" initiative,
with corporate
stakeholders jockeying
for a role in defining, developing
- and
profiting -
from the technology...
The World Economic
Forum (WEF) and major corporations, following talks at last month's annual
meeting in
Davos, Switzerland, launched a new
initiative:
"Defining and Building the Metaverse"...
As the initiative's
name implies, its stakeholders are still in the process of defining
exactly what the term "metaverse" means.
However, according to
the WEF, in part,
the metaverse,
"involves a moment at which our
digital lives - our online identities, experiences, relationships,
and assets - become more meaningful to us than our physical lives"...
One person involved
in the talks, Julia Goldin, LEGO's chief product and marketing
officer, expressed optimism
about how the metaverse could aid in children's development:
"To us, the
priority is to help create a world in which we can give kids all the
benefits of the metaverse - one with immersive experiences,
creativity and self-expression at its core - in a way that is also
safe, protects their rights and promotes their well-being."
While the talks
focused somewhat on how to definitively define the term "metaverse,"
there was also a great deal of focus on who should be involved in -
and potentially profit from - its development.
Those involved in
the talks positioned
themselves to,
"develop and share actionable strategies for
creating and governing" an "interoperable and safe" metaverse.
There also were
extensive discussions on providing,
"guidance on how to create an
ethical and inclusive metaverse, engaging organizations across the
private and public sectors, including business, civil society,
academia and regulators."
The WEF described the
initiative as,
"bringing together leading voices from the private
sector, civil society, academia and policy" to "define the
parameters" of the metaverse's future development.
A May 25 session
- "Shaping a Shared Future: Making the Metaverse" - included the
following panelists:
-
Chris Cox,
chief product officer of Facebook's parent company, Meta.
-
Peggy Johnson,
CEO of Magic
Leap, described by
the WEF as "a spatial computing company building the next
computing platform."
-
Philip
Rosedale, founder of Linden
Lab, which developed the "Second Life" virtual world, acquired in
April by Meta.
-
Andrew R.
Sorkin, financial columnist for The New York Times and co-anchor
of CNBC's "Squawk Box."
-
Omar Sultan Al
Olama, minister of state for artificial intelligence in the
United Arab Emirates, appointed in 2017.
Nick Clegg, Meta's
president of global affairs who was formerly deputy prime minister
of the U.K., said the,
"multistakeholder initiative" aims to assume a leading role in
establishing and shaping the metaverse.
The WEF said early
stakeholders will play a particularly significant role in this
process:
"'Defining and
Building the Metaverse' is the world's foremost multistakeholder
initiative to develop and share actionable strategies for creating
and governing the metaverse.
"By providing a
space for global leaders in industry, civil society and government,
the initiative will share and accelerate insights and solutions that
will bring the metaverse to life.
"By joining the
initiative, members are playing a vital role in defining and
building the metaverse."
Building a
'metaverse' that hasn't yet been definitively defined
Though as its name
implies, part of the initiative's goal is to define "metaverse," the
WEF did offer this highly broad, general definition:
"…a future
persistent and interconnected virtual environment where social and
economic elements mirror reality.
Users can interact with it and
each other simultaneously across devices and immersive technologies
while engaging with digital assets and property."
This expands on the
"simplest" definition of the metaverse provided by the WEF, which described it
as,
"a unified and persistent virtual environment accessed via
extended reality (XR) technologies."
The WEF said the
metaverse is most usefully seen,
"as a lens through which to view
ongoing digital transformation," based on the belief that "virtual
worlds, incorporating connected devices, blockchain and other tech
will be so commonplace that the metaverse will become an extension
of reality itself."
More specific
definitions of the metaverse, however,
"can develop in many ways,
depending on research, innovation, investment and policy," the WEF said.
According to
the WEF, the metaverse,
"can be categorized into three schools of
thought," which include:
-
The metaverse
"as a product or service."
-
The metaverse
"as a place where users can connect, interact, and transfer
themselves and their belongings across multiple digital
locations," such as "gaming and creator platforms."
-
The metaverse
as a moment "at which our digital lives - our online
identities, experiences, relationships, and assets - become more
meaningful to us than our physical lives" - a definition
described by the WEF in its article as "compelling."
Despite the WEF's
ambiguous definition of the metaverse as a concept, the organization
is definite in
predicting its impacts and its value for major (and real-world)
corporations and businesses:
"This will have
significant impacts on society.
Just as the internet and smartphones
transformed our social and commercial interactions, the metaverse
could change the way people and businesses communicate, and operate,
in innovative yet unpredictable ways."
The WEF's new
initiative will focus on two key areas, or "action tracks:"
metaverse governance, and the generation of "economic and societal
value."
The WEF,
"will explore themes across regulatory frameworks,
technology choices and economic opportunities."
More specifically,
"metaverse governance" refers to a commitment by members of the
initiative to recommend,
"governance frameworks for interoperable,
safe and inclusive metaverse ecosystems."
According to the
WEF,
"this entails finding harmonization between regulation and
innovation in order to develop interoperability while preserving
user privacy and safety."
In turn,
"generating economic and societal value" will involve members
of the initiative sharing and accelerating "insights and solutions
that will bring the metaverse to life."
The WEF said that,
"in doing so, they will map new value chains and business models
across industries, identifying elements and use cases that provide
economic opportunity."
Industry
'stakeholders' eye profit-making potential of 'metaverse'
The initiative's
"generating economic and societal value" action track belies what
may lie at the heart of the WEF's efforts to set the rules of
engagement in the metaverse while it is still in its nascent state.
More than 60
corporate "stakeholders" have signed
on to the initiative thus far, including several Big
Tech firms, such as,
Meta, Microsoft, Taiwanese consumer
electronics firm HTC, and Sony Interactive, accompanied by Walmart,
the LEGO Group, as well as academics and representatives of civil
society...
Many of these
stakeholders may be enticed by the growth potential of the metaverse
market, which Bloomberg predicted will
grow to $800 billion by 2024.
Examples of this
are already evident.
For instance, according
to the WEF, the popular Fortnite video game,
"sells over $3
billion of digital cosmetic items to players each year, making it a
larger apparel company by sales than several global fashion houses."
Given the market
potential, it's not surprising executives from several Big Tech
companies, and from the WEF itself, warmly praised the WEF's new
initiative.
For instance,
Jeremy Jurgens, the WEF's managing director, stated:
"'The Defining and
Building the Metaverse' initiative provides the industry with an
essential toolkit for ethically and responsibly building the
metaverse.
"This will help
ensure that we can fully harness this vital medium for social and
economic interconnectivity in an inclusive, ethical and
transformative manner."
Meta's
Clegg added:
"The metaverse is
at an early stage in its development. Done well, the metaverse could
be a positive force for inclusion and equity, bridging some of the
divides that exist in today's physical and digital spaces.
"That's why the
'Defining and Building the Metaverse' initiative will be so
valuable. It mustn't be shaped by tech companies on their own.
It
needs to be developed openly with a spirit of cooperation between
the private sector, lawmakers, civil society, academia and the
people who will use these technologies.
"This effort must
be undertaken in the best interests of people and society, not
technology companies."
Brad Smith,
president and vice chair of Microsoft, remarked:
"While the
metaverse is in its nascent stage, we believe it has the potential
to deliver enhanced connections for everyone.
"As an industry it
is incumbent upon all of us to ensure this new paradigm is developed
in a way that is accessible for everyone, puts the needs of people
first, enhances human connection and is developed securely with
trust built in by design."
Cher Wang, founder
and chairwoman of HTC, described the metaverse as "inevitable," saying:
"The metaverse is
the next inevitable step in the evolution of the internet but will
require comprehensive collaboration between all ecosystem
stakeholders to make it an open, safe and secure environment.
"As such, this
Forum initiative is a robust start to addressing the key technology
and policy fundamentals to enable the metaverse to fulfill its
boundless potential."
Similarly, Magic
Leap's Peggy Johnson expressed excitement
over the transformations the metaverse could deliver, including in
areas such as healthcare:
"At Magic Leap, we
are excited about how technologies like augmented reality will
transform the way we live and work, especially in growing fields
like healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector.
"To realize the
potential of these technologies, a thoughtful framework for
regulation that protects users and facilitates future innovation is
required, supported by all stakeholders, including businesses,
consumers, government, NGOs and academia."
Yat Sui, co-founder
and chairman of Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based game software
company, described the
metaverse's potential in the realm of "digital ownership":
"Animoca Brands is
pleased to be a part of the inaugural metaverse initiative launched
by the World Economic Forum and we look forward to a dialogue with
our industry colleagues as we navigate the potential of true digital
ownership in the open metaverse."
Others, such as Dr.
Inhyok Cha, CEO of South Korean IT service management company CJ
Olive Networks and group chief digital officer of CJ Corporation, praised the
WEF's new initiative for its potential to help stakeholders overcome
"unforeseen complexities":
"The rapid
advancement and adoption of the metaverse will create unforeseen
complexities in terms of governance, ethics, social and industrial
effects.
"Thus, the need for
collective intelligence to anticipate, analyze, design, experiment
on and constantly revise governance measures and frameworks will be
crucial."
Who will
govern the 'metaverse'?
Inhyok's remarks
reflect questions also acknowledged by the WEF about who will
"govern" the metaverse, and in what manner.
Specifically, the
WEF describes metaverse
governance as,
"a multifaceted challenge which needs to consider
interoperability, privacy, safety and security."
According to the
WEF,
"real-world governance models" represent one possible option
for metaverse governance.
However, far from
referring to constitutionally defined institutions of governance,
with checks and balances, the WEF cites Facebook's
"Oversight
Board" as an example of such a "real-world governance model."
However, according to
the WEF, "not all legislators are satisfied" with such models,
citing, for instance, new regulations such as the European Union's Digital
Services Act, which will police content moderation and
"disinformation" on social media platforms.
Other potential
governance models cited by
the WEF include user-based systems modeled on blockchain technology
and non-fungible
tokens (NFTs).
Tech
companies eager to develop the technologies of the future
'metaverse'
For Big Tech
companies, the potential profitability and revenue streams offered
by the metaverse go hand in hand with the companies' ability to
develop the
technologies that will be used to create the metaverse.
Indeed, the WEF
tells,
"major technology companies including Apple, Google,
Meta Platforms (Facebook), Microsoft, Niantic and Valve are
developing the tech that will shape the future of the metaverse."
The WEF goes on to
add that the metaverse will be shaped by three potential
technological innovations, including,
While VR and AR may
be familiar to many, BCI represents the most ambitious of these
three technological tracks - and may belie the true intentions of
the WEF and the "stakeholders" of this new initiative.
Specifically, BCI
aims,
"to replace screens and physical hardware entirely."
The WEF refers to
technology such as
Neuralink, that "requires neurosurgery to implant devices in the
brain," as an example of BCI.
Alibaba Group
President J. Michael Evans during the meeting
gushed over "individual carbon footprint trackers" - resembling
"personal carbon allowance" technology
previously reported on by The Defender.
Similarly, Nokia
CEO Pekka Lundmark
predicted that
by 2030,
"smartphones will be implanted directly into the body,"
surely facilitating the expansion of the metaverse.
|
