Metaverse, the new roads between revolution and risks

Metaverse

Education and medicine, but also gaming, entertainment and tourism: the metaverse and new immersive technologies such as augmented reality, web 3.0 and artificial intelligence are spreading in various sectors, even very different from each other. As a result, exposure to new risks by these new platforms also increases. To understand the perception of users, in collaboration with Ipsos, in September Wallife conducted a research entitled Behaviors on the web and perceived exposure to risks on 700 interviewees in Italy, 500 in France and 500 in Germany, a total of 1,700 respondents for each wave, aged between 18 and 65 years. “ What emerged from the research is that a third of respondents have suffered a digital breach. They are our early adopters - explains Maria Enrica Angelone, CEO of Wallife -. However, they are also the most prepared for these risks, because they have experienced the risks themselves. For this reason, we at Wallife also want to address the other two thirds ”. For next year, in fact, the Italian insuretech company active in the areas of biometrics, genetics and biohacking, also wants to deal with the metaverse and the new risks associated with this new dimension.

“ The pandemic has led to an important technological leap. It has allowed an important part of citizens to become more familiar with the digital area - begins Nando Pagnoncelli, president of Ipsos Italia, who presented the research on new trends related to the metaverse and the perception of risks during the Wallife Edge round table 2023. “ A third of the population of the three countries experienced a digital breach. In Italy 33%, in France 34% and in Germany 35% - reiterated Pagnoncelli-. The most frequent types of violations are fraudulent access to the social profile, between 15% and 19%, unauthorized use of images on the web, between 11% and 15%, fraudulent access to the current account online and online trading, between 15% and 16% and, in fourth place, the theft of money through the digital account, between 9% and 10% ”.

The report continues with the probability of risk perceived by the interviewees, according to Pagnoncelli "still a little contained". In fact, regarding the most widespread violations in the three countries, more than half of the respondents believe that the risk of becoming a victim of these violations is very low.

Also with regard to knowledge of the metaverse and attitude towards new technologies, 55% of Italians, 61% of French and 68% of Germans declared that they had participated in at least one metaverse activity , while a much higher percentage, 75% for Italy, 84% for France and 90% for Germany, said they knew the concept of metaverse: “ The metaverse is a platform increasingly used by citizens of different countries - continues Pagnoncelli -. Between 42% and 54% of respondents in the three countries use it above all for virtual socialisation, between 41% and 50% for entertainment”. In third place is the use of the metaverse for virtual learning, with percentages ranging from 40 to 43%.

“ We have noticed that there is a greater perception of the risks of the metaverse where the knowledge of the platform is greater ”, continues Pagnoncelli. The research also revealed that 81% of Italian and German respondents and 72% of French respondents said they were inclined to take out insurance coverage for at least one of the risks of the metaverse among the most frequent digital violations in the three countries . Among those who have already suffered a violation, the percentage of those who would like to activate insurance coverage is 97% in Italy and Germany and 85% in France.

The risks of the metaverse for the new generations

Above all, it is the new generations who are most affected by the risks of immersive technologies: "We have a cognitive shift effect that allows us to abstract ourselves from what is happening around us and to understand it - explains Umberto Callegari, Ww commercial lead  and customer transformation of Microsoft -. While slippage is quite normal for us, the new generations don't know this slippage”.

“ The sneaky risk - he continues -. We do not realize that we are the medium through which we experience the metaverse. Already now we have undergone a series of hacking processes on our own bodies ”. In fact, Callegari talks about the dopamine reward loop, or rather the phenomenon whereby users become addicted to their phones and social networks, but also to gaming platforms.

Metaverse and professional training

The metaverse creates new opportunities also in the field of professional and medical training. "With the metaverse, great opportunities have come in the field of professional training. The pandemic has also allowed the acceleration of regulated contexts such as the medical one - explains Domenico De Paolis, senior business director of Emea Medtronic -. Extremely innovative practices have been included which provide minimal access to the human body to treat pathologies. These practices are aimed at improving the lives of patients and those who work with them ". Thanks to virtual reality and the metaverse it will in fact be possible to connect professionals who are located in different parts of the world and who were previously forced to travel to attend conferences. With this opportunity, it will be possible for them to participate in training meeting courses even remotely through immersive technologies that reproduce the conference in virtual reality.

Moreover, again thanks to the metaverse and the use of virtual reality, it was possible to recreate an operating room and the tactile sensation that the doctor feels when he has to insert prostheses. These trainings are considered as superior training courses compared to those who have participated in other training courses.

A new way of doing tourism

Sara Noggler, CEO of Polyhedra, spoke of the opportunities of the metaverse also in tourism, “ more than others it is looking for new ways to survive and that it must find contact with consumers and look at possible future scenarios: to create a more resilient, more sustainable, more democratic tourism ”. To do this, according to Noggler, it is necessary to keep in mind that technology must always be at the service of man and not the other way around.

Among the methods of using the metaverse in tourism, many are already being developed experimentation and use: for example, some hotel companies and airlines allow customers to try the experience through virtual reality before purchasing the service. “Moreover, the Citizen M hotel chain has started the construction of the first hotel in the metaverse with a Sandbox platform and has decided to finance the construction of this hotel through the sale of 2000 nft-explains Noggler-. The city of Orvieto will provide the first experience in the metaverse in 2023, building some digital spaces in the city and which will only be accessible thanks to immersive technology. The avatar of Anna will welcome and accompany the metatourists ”. Among the examples of Noggler there is also Monuverse, which will transform the monuments into nft, including the Arco della pace in Milan.

New ways to meet

“ Most people think that the metaverse is only one place - begins Nic Mitham, CEO of Metaversed -. But it is not: it is a universe of more than 150 virtual worlds. It's not a single destination. If we consider the entire universe of the virtual world we can count 440 million monthly active users, which is more or less the population of the United States of the United Kingdom combined. Many don't think of the metaverse as something that broad." As reported by Mitham, in the metaverse market there is still a strong presence of Web2.0 platforms, through which, however, users will be able to learn about web3.0. Metaversed was responsible for the creation in the metaverse of the McDonald's headquarters in Midtown Chicago, where the Feel-Good Marketing Awards were held in November, as they do every year: “In the real world, that building has nine floors, but we have also created the roof garden. We are in the metaverse we can do whatever we want ”.

Metainfluencer

The role of influencers will undergo change with the introduction of the metaverse according to Gianluca Perrelli, CEO of Buzzoole, who spoke of one “ shift from a creator economy to a new metaverse form and ecosystem ”. It is about the transition to a community economy, a "revolution of the business model, in which the fans themselves can participate".

“ Zaira is our metahuman - explains Perrelli introducing the metainfluencer -. She is an Italian meta-influencer, an exponent of generation Z. We would like Zaira to become like Dante's Virgil, we would like her to accompany people into the future of the metaverse ”.