Structure of Principles of the Metaverse

Ethical Frameworks for XR and Virtual Worlds
1

At the Global Multistakeholder High Level Conference on Governance of Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds, a representative of the Japanese delegation presented their “Structure of Principles of the Metaverse”, which included two tiers of four principles:

Principles for the Further Self-motivated and Autonomous Development:

  1. Openness and Innovation
  2. Diversity and Inclusion
  3. Literacy
  4. Community

Principles for Improving Trustworthiness

  1. Transparency and Explanation
  2. Accountability
  3. Privacy
  4. Security

The principles are presented in a presentation accessible here: https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000975017.pdf

2

What I found particularly intriguing is the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs’ strong focus on spoofing and the ethical implications of avatars imitating real people. This concern highlights the challenges posed by elements that may be subject to imitation, such as appearances and voices, raising important questions about identity and authenticity in digital environments.

While in the XR4Human COC it is proposed that users should own and control their digital identities, including avatars, both during their lifetime and after death, with the ability to customize and transport them across platforms, ensuring continuity and interoperability.

But this opens a huge question on whether in social platforms users are allowed to be someone else apart from themselves. I wonder why XR4Human CoC doesn’t take into consideration that users would like to be able to embody someone else in virtual worlds. What is wrong with embodying an avatar that is not related to the users’ appearance? What about a non-human avatar like a cat or a plant?

Of course, imitation is a huge issue and clarifying the concept of elements that may be subject to imitation, such as appearances and voices, etc., in their terms of use and community guidelines, is crucial.