Judeumeh's Blog

I’ve heard it said about Ice Hockey that good players try to skate where the puck will be rather than where it is. The Metaverse and Extended Reality (XR) technologies represent, in my mind, just such a key point in the line of travel for human computing interactions. Therefore, a policy brief about Unleashing European Innovation for the Metaverse certainly got my attention. Read on to find out…

Policy Brief Roundtable

Last week, I attended an LSE roundtable event to launch the above report about European Innovation for the Metaverse, and below are few points I took away, plus some reflections and observations.

1 – Hyper-Heterogenous Innovation Challenge – Metaverse and Extended Reality is not only about ground breaking research, but also involves integrating various emerging technologies, innovative content and experiences, optimising connectivity, creating more fashionable wearable tech and user experiences, as well as maintaining human centricity and mitigating risk with all of the above.

2 – Europe is well positioned to play a leadership role – Some European companies are already at the cutting edge of exploring immersive and related technologies (e.g. digital twinning, photonics and certain industrial applications). Also, Europe has a good track record of collaborative ventures (e.g. Airbus) that achieve success because, or in spite, of its multi-lingual, multi-cultural heritage.

3 – The prize is right – According to this report, AR & VR applications alone could drive up to 1.3 Trillion global turnover by 2030. By embracing XR and the Metaverse, Europe stands to gain a good share of that prize and more, with productivity growth, competitiveness, societal gains and less opportunity costs.

4 – Game changing ecosystem layers – The Metaverse, XR and related technologies incorporate various existing and emerging technologies. This highlights the need for an open, scalable ecosystem across multiple layers e.g.:

• Infrastructure – hardware, standards, protocols and connectivity across: cloud and edge computing, IoT, connected devices, haptic technologies, next gen chipsets and photonics, as well as relevant standards, protocols
• Platforms – products, services and applications with AI assistants, avatars, 3d modelling, digital twins, as well as protection for assets, security and privacy
• Experiences – immersive vertical applications delivered via visualisations, games, simulation, content, interactions and transactions, plus a hearty dose of user generated content and experiences.

5 – Industry relevance and applications – spread across: architecture, construction, education and training, healthcare, manufacturing, media / creative industries, retail and marketing, transport, supply chain, logistics and public services etc.

Key Challenges to Overcome

In addition to the innovation, integration and compatibility challenge, other key obstacles to large scale adoption and commercialisation of the metaverse include an under developed user experience which make it challenging for users to engage with and/or remain in immersive environments for prolonged periods of time. Wearable devices are far from unintrusive, fashionable and/or energy efficient over 24 hours.

Furthermore, European component makers and suppliers may need better incentives to prioritise Metaverse development. Researchers may also be inhibited by funding limitations and/or accessibility for their metaverse projects, compounded by relatively lower entrepreneurship mentality within funding providers, e.g. compared to USA. In addition, the EU is itself a hetrogenous environment with additional challenges from a fragmented environment.

Finally, the report talks about need for a coherent, Europe-wide, long-term vision for this super dense technology and experience paradigm. It also makes a call to action for EU govenments to do more to scale market demand and provide support for public information, education, training and talent development. This includes ensuring user trust is front and centre with human-centric considerations for safety, inclusion, well-being etc.

The way forward

Europe should captialise on its foresight and leadership in creating relevant strategies and legislative guidelines for emerging technologies such as: GDPR, or the 2003 European Commission Strategy on Web4.0, as well as the more recent EU AI ACT. This report argues the case for taking similar leadership initiative for the Metaverse and Immersive Internet technologies.

Three Key recommendations from the report are summarised below, as follows:

1. Industrial Policy for EU innovation network – Integrate existing innovation clusters into a network, supported with appropriate funding and common standards
2. Create and Nurture New Talent – prioritise training and skills development for immersive tech and the metaverse
3. Foster demand, scale and promote an open ecosystem – leverage legislative framework, reflecting the diversity of Europe, and utilise immersive tech to support and help develop international standards

All in all, this was a great opportunity to get an inside look at the opportunities, challenges and recommendations for Europe’s leadership role in a crucial part of the next wave in human and technology co-evolution. I couldn’t ask for more.

My reflections and observations:

First of all, I’m truly grateful for the kind invitation from the event organisers to participate in this event The work is comprehensive, well researched and clearly presented, with distinct calls to action based on compelling arguments and related evidence. Kudos to the authors and their sponsors of this effort.

The following are some more general reflections and thoughts, including some commentary from the roundtable conversations, that I would like to share:

1. HUMAN: Careful consideration of human-centric development, needs and concerns – It can’t be understated just how much the prospect of unleashing such powerful technologies may strike fear and some level of anxiety for some. As a technologist and consumer, I can empathaise with one participant’s keen observation about the huge implications for people and societal evolution if & when we can conduct life in mixed reality mode 24/7.
2. CONTROL: People should not lose control (or feel like they’re not in control) – Much like Generative AI, it is imperative to ensure that Humans remain at the Helm of Metaverse, XR and ensuing immersive Internet content and experiences, along with the power and means to stop it as and when necessary.
3. CONTEXT: Context Hygeine is set to become super important – The rapidly blurring boundaries of physical vs. virtual worlds will require clear markers and education for users to ensure a clearly identifiable separation layer exists, even with full immersion experiences. Psychological safety is as important as physical safety, if not moreso
4. RISK: Stakeholder risk management is non-negotiable for Metaverse and Web4.0 – At Salesforce, I focus on Strategy and Responsble AI, and we try to consider risk from the perspective of all key stakeholders. Another participant observed that although it might be too early for full-fledged regulations, it’s no excuse for not using good core values and common sense to co-develop the tech and potential rules for its many uses
5. REWARD: Exponential Technology and (Stakeholder) Economics – A hyper-heterogenous innovation challenge requires exploration (or a complete rethink) of implications for Intellectual Property. How do you monetise immersive experiences and what role will a re-imagined IP mechanism play?

I believe this confluence of emerging technologies and evolving user needs will herald a new age of exponential thinking, living and being. It’ll require a mix of child-like curiosity, discovery and creativity, anchored by a strong sense of responsibility, decent core values and inclusive principles to make it work for everyone.

More to come on this…