Tips for Metaverse(1)

Tenet #1 – Creative freedom is not negotiable “The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.” – George Bernard Shaw As the prerequisite technologies become available, the emergence of a proto-metaverse becomes all but inevitable. Nevertheless, it is too soon to know what kind of metaverse will arise—whether it will belong to everybody, embracing freedom, accessibility and personal expression without compromise, or be controlled and shaped by the will and whims of its creators. To draw a relatable comparison, imagine a different world where the web functions akin to Apple’s iOS app store. In this world, all websites must be reviewed and approved for content before they are made available to users. In this impoverished version of the web, content perceived as disagreeable by its gatekeepers is suppressed, and users find themselves culturally stranded in a manicured walled garden. While our (reasonably) free web has become a powerful driver of contemporary culture, I would argue that a content-controlled web would remain culturally impotent in comparison because censorship inevitably stifles creativity. Some believe that censorship under the guise of curation is acceptable under a benevolent dictator. But let me again bring forth the common example of Apple, an adored company that has succumbed to the temptation of acting as a distorted moral compass for its customers by ruling that images of the human body are immoral while murder simulators are acceptable. In contrast, the ideal metaverse allows everyone to add worlds to the network since there are no gatekeepers. In it, human creativity is unshackled by the conventions and customs of our old world. Content creators are encouraged to explore the full spectrum of possible human experiences without the fear of censorship. Each world is a sovereign space that is entirely determined and controlled by its owner-creator.