THE RIGHT MOVE
After the SIM Registration Act was signed by President Marcos, legislators are already working on similar bills to protect the people’s personal information in this digital era. But as nations take proactive legislative measures to protect the consumers’ rights to their personal information in a world of hackers, fraudulent marketers, and cyber bullies, an emerging technological advancement is making headlines yet again.
The metaverse. If you see anonymous comments on your social media pages and text messages from unregistered numbers inviting you to invest in bitcoin (another example of data breach), this is merely one facet of the metaverse. Simply put, the metaverse is a virtual world that mimics the real world and allows end users to exist in it through technologies including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), social media and digital currency. If you have a teenager like me, a perfect example of metaverse is the online game Roblox which advertisers have tapped into to sell their products and services. From this online game popularized during the lockdowns when our children were left without much choice but to befriend their gadgets, actual retailers such as Amazon, have used the metaverse in allowing their customers to try on clothes online.
The metaverse may be an under tapped industry for now, but as it has gained much international publicity and hype over the past months, more and more entrepreneurs, local and national governments, as well as private companies have invested in this fledgling industry. In fact, it has been reported that South Korea has invested over $177.1 million in metaverse technology.
Not to be left behind and keeping our badge as one of the heaviest internet users in Asia, a group of resourceful Filipino entrepreneurs have successfully brought this Korean technology to the Philippines. Metavity Philippines Corporation promises to deliver an advanced 3.0 version platform and software solutions which are thrilling innovations in digitization.
Metavity’s Chief Executive Officer Ryan Byun is optimistic that with the proper government support, metaverse can propel the Philippines to the global top 10 digital powers of the 21st century. While we have yet to fully resolve impending issues on existing and simpler technologies particularly when it comes to personal information, metaverse, if optimized, can largely contribute to the digitalization thrusts of the present administration by improving the rate of computer literacy in the Philippines.
Whether or not students will be obliged to fully participate in face to face classes in the foreseeable future, it is undeniable how digitization is not going anywhere but forward.
Metaverse may have seemingly unfathomable impact on society — just as smart phones may have in the 70s, but with governments the world over investing in it, it is not a bad idea to have a jump on this if we have any hope of catching up with other developing and first world countries.
But before we jump into more futuristic versions of the metaverse, it would help to imagine it in the form of electronic education and electronic government based on artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.
The metaverse system offers an integrated online/metaverse and offline computer education for Philippine civil servants including the police force and the military.
University students may likewise take government-accredited computer tests and certificate courses as required by hiring companies, disaster safety education, and advancements in Wi-Fi, CCTV systems, among others.
The metaverse technology can be beneficial in health care as physician accessibility can be greatly increased through a more advanced online consultation. This system can also offer a solution to work from home isolation as it can create digital workspaces, and now jumping into the future, even AI versions of employees can be sent in place of a worker who may be under the weather.
It can open up more imaginative ways for better communication even for long distance relationships.
As with any new technological advancement and invention, the metaverse has limitless potential in affecting and hopefully improving our day to day life. Large investments of governments signal a looming interest in a technology perceived to take the limelight in the coming years, but for now, it is necessary to address our existing technological issues first.
And while I am not yet personally ready to live or even imagine living in a metaverse just like in movies "Total Recall" or "The Surrogates," it will be a deliberate obtuseness not to surmise its impending and highly inevitable impact on societies worldwide.
The metaverse has ceased to be a fictional storyline of a sci-fi movie. It is actually here and here to stay.