The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks
With their exponentially rising computational power, digital platforms are heralding a new era of hybrid intelligence. There has recently been much enthusiasm and hype that the Metaverse has the potential to unlock hybrid intelligence. This is premised on the idea that the Metaverse represents an ap...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Smart Cities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/6/3/65 |
| _version_ | 1797592629104345088 |
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| author | Simon Elias Bibri |
| author_facet | Simon Elias Bibri |
| author_sort | Simon Elias Bibri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With their exponentially rising computational power, digital platforms are heralding a new era of hybrid intelligence. There has recently been much enthusiasm and hype that the Metaverse has the potential to unlock hybrid intelligence. This is premised on the idea that the Metaverse represents an applied convergence of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) and Extended Reality (XR) that intersects with urbanism in terms of the distinctive features of platform-mediated everyday life experiences in cities. However, social interaction and its resulting social organization in the Metaverse are mediated and governed by algorithms and thus submitted to—a dream of—complete logical ordering. This raises a plethora of concerns related to the systemic collection and algorithmic processing of users’ personal, brain, and biometric data, i.e., profound societal—and the hardest to predict ethical—implications. Therefore, this study analyzes and synthesizes a large body of scientific literature on the unfolding convergence of AIoT and XR technologies, neurotechnology, and nanobiotechnology in the realm of the Metaverse in order to derive a novel conceptual framework for the Metaverse as an envisioned virtual model of platform urbanism. Further, it examines the key challenges and risks of these converging technologies in relation to the Metaverse and beyond. This study employs thematic analysis and synthesis to cope with multidisciplinary literature. The analysis identifies seven themes: (1) Platformization, (2) platform urbanism, (3) virtual urbanism, (4) XR technologies, (5) AIoT technologies, (6) neurotechnology, and (7) nanobiotechnology. The synthesized evidence reveals that, while neurotechnology and nanobiotechnology have numerous benefits and promising prospects, they raise contentions and controversies stemming from their potential use to inflict harm to human users—if left unchecked—through the black box of the algorithmic mediation underpinning the Metaverse. The findings serve to steer the Metaverse to contribute to human flourishing and wellbeing by adhering to and upholding ethical principles as well as leveraging its underlying disruptive technologies in meaningful ways. They also aid scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in assessing the pros and cons of these technologies, especially their inevitable ramifications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:55:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3f0d5f14cc984d6480be41e856f54995 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-6511 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:55:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Smart Cities |
| spelling | doaj.art-3f0d5f14cc984d6480be41e856f549952023-11-18T12:36:54ZengMDPI AGSmart Cities2624-65112023-05-01631345138410.3390/smartcities6030065The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and RisksSimon Elias Bibri0School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering Institute, Visual Intelligence for Transportation, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandWith their exponentially rising computational power, digital platforms are heralding a new era of hybrid intelligence. There has recently been much enthusiasm and hype that the Metaverse has the potential to unlock hybrid intelligence. This is premised on the idea that the Metaverse represents an applied convergence of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) and Extended Reality (XR) that intersects with urbanism in terms of the distinctive features of platform-mediated everyday life experiences in cities. However, social interaction and its resulting social organization in the Metaverse are mediated and governed by algorithms and thus submitted to—a dream of—complete logical ordering. This raises a plethora of concerns related to the systemic collection and algorithmic processing of users’ personal, brain, and biometric data, i.e., profound societal—and the hardest to predict ethical—implications. Therefore, this study analyzes and synthesizes a large body of scientific literature on the unfolding convergence of AIoT and XR technologies, neurotechnology, and nanobiotechnology in the realm of the Metaverse in order to derive a novel conceptual framework for the Metaverse as an envisioned virtual model of platform urbanism. Further, it examines the key challenges and risks of these converging technologies in relation to the Metaverse and beyond. This study employs thematic analysis and synthesis to cope with multidisciplinary literature. The analysis identifies seven themes: (1) Platformization, (2) platform urbanism, (3) virtual urbanism, (4) XR technologies, (5) AIoT technologies, (6) neurotechnology, and (7) nanobiotechnology. The synthesized evidence reveals that, while neurotechnology and nanobiotechnology have numerous benefits and promising prospects, they raise contentions and controversies stemming from their potential use to inflict harm to human users—if left unchecked—through the black box of the algorithmic mediation underpinning the Metaverse. The findings serve to steer the Metaverse to contribute to human flourishing and wellbeing by adhering to and upholding ethical principles as well as leveraging its underlying disruptive technologies in meaningful ways. They also aid scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in assessing the pros and cons of these technologies, especially their inevitable ramifications.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/6/3/65Metaverseplatform urbanismsmart urbanismplatformizationArtificial Intelligence of ThingsXReality |
| spellingShingle | Simon Elias Bibri The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks Smart Cities Metaverse platform urbanism smart urbanism platformization Artificial Intelligence of Things XReality |
| title | The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks |
| title_full | The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks |
| title_fullStr | The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks |
| title_short | The Metaverse as a Virtual Model of Platform Urbanism: Its Converging AIoT, XReality, Neurotech, and Nanobiotech and Their Applications, Challenges, and Risks |
| title_sort | metaverse as a virtual model of platform urbanism its converging aiot xreality neurotech and nanobiotech and their applications challenges and risks |
| topic | Metaverse platform urbanism smart urbanism platformization Artificial Intelligence of Things XReality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/6/3/65 |
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