Can we create a moral metaverse?

Emerging reports depict a metaverse more akin to the lawless chat rooms that dominated the early internet than the moderated and algorithmically pruned digital gardens we mostly occupy today. A recent Channel 4 Dispatches investigation documented metaverses rife with hate speech, sexual harassment, paedophilia, and avatars simulating sex in spaces accessible to children.

Research predating the metaverse hype finds that these experiences are far from uncommon. A 2018 study by virtual reality research agency The Extended Mind found that 36% of males and 49% of females who regularly used VR technologies reported having experienced sexual harassment.

Technology companies are working on ensuring that one day, these worlds feel as real as possible. Facebook announced last November that it was developing a haptic vibrating glove to help mimic the feeling of handling objects; Spanish startup OWO has created a sensor-packed jacket to allow users to feel in-game hugs and gunshots; and Japanese tech company H2L is working on simulating pain in the metaverse, including the sensation of a bird pecking your arm.

With this brave new world come emerging ethical, legal and philosophical questions. How should the regulatory environment evolve to deal with the metaverse? Can metaverse platforms rely on the safety protocols of their predecessors, or are entirely new approaches warranted? And will virtual punishments be sufficient to deter bad actors?

There are some examples of when digital-world crime has resulted in real-world punishment. In 2012, the Dutch supreme court ruled on a case involving the theft of a digital amulet and sword in the online multiplayer game Runescape. Two players who robbed another at knifepoint were sentenced to real-world community service, with the judge saying that although the stolen objects had no material value, their worth derived from the time and effort spent obtaining them.

Co-founder of the gaming research company Quantic Foundry, Nick Yee, has highlighted the example of multiplayer game EverQuest, where players who had died in the game were forced to travel back to the location of their deaths and reclaim lost belongings. Yee argues that this design feature helped to encourage altruistic behaviour, because players had to solicit help from other players in retrieving the items, helping to foster camaraderie and promote positive interactions.

A 2019 paper by researchers working with Facebook-owned Oculus VR indicates that the company is exploring community-driven moderation initiatives in its VR applications as a means of countering the problems of top-down governance.