This Week in the Metaverse for October 24, 2022

0 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Script: October 24, 2022 1 00:00:39,000 --> 00:01:07,000 Hi, it’s Mike Stiles and this is This Week in the Metaverse, your weekly newscast that keeps you up to date on everything that isn’t real, and yet is. It’s October 24th, let’s see how much closer to the metaverse we got this week. 2 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:36,000 As you’ve heard us report here many times, one of the things people apparently love to do in the metaverse is sexually harass or otherwise abuse other participants there. So it’s no surprise that some governments and organizations have started thinking about how law enforcement will be conducted in the metaverse. In other words, will there be metaverse cops? The answer is yes, probably, because anywhere authority can be exerted it will be, and as long as people make it their life’s work to hurt other people, that authority will be required. Dubai’s Ajman Police General Command unveiled the “Request for Sponsorship,” a system the public can use to remotely contact authorities through the virtual domain. It supports seven languages, no Klingon isn’t one of them, and it’s pre-loaded with 70 designed servicing staff. The spookiest part is, Dubai Police’s AI Director said the smart device that’ll be used for this project keeps your information and transactions stored, as well as all your offenses, including traffic violations. In other words, they’ll know instantly if you’re a problem citizen. 3 00:01:37,000 --> 00:02:05,000 But it doesn’t stop in Dubai, the world’s largest entity of international law enforcement is called Interpol, and they are launching their first “global police metaverse.” Let’s get you up to speed on Interpol first. It’s focused on transnational crime and is controlled by a committee of representatives from member countries. And what they’re saying is that while the metaverse may seem abstract right now, they want to be able to support member nations in virtual worlds as well as the real ones. Which leads to the next question, what kind of crimes will they be looking for? Well simmer down James Bond and we’ll tell you. They already see that a lot of the most imminent international crime threats are happening online; we’re talking ransomware, online scams, hacks, stuff like that. And they aren’t lying. Hackers alone have made well over $3 billion this year from crypto crimes. What Interpol expects is more crime like trafficking, data theft, money laundering, fraud, counterfeiting, and assault. They figure by getting in early, they can start building the framework for what is and isn’t legal in the metaverse and nip some big criminal enterprises in the bud. And as we’ve seen from the United Nations, big international bureaucracies are always efficient, relevant, and effective. 4 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:34,000 Bernard Marr is a big-time futurist and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments, and he just put out his list of the Web3 trends we should be watching in 2023. A reminder for those of you just joining us, Web3 is about a decentralized internet, which is an internet that’s not controlled by corporations like Google and Meta. Trend one: the decentralized metaverse. The most well-known examples are probably Decentraland and The Sandbox. All the data’s stored on a blockchain so only those with permission can mess around with things. The hosting server has no individual owner who can do things like censor content. Trend 2: Useful NFTs. They’re tokens on a blockchain that represent something unique, like metaverse real estate. And they might be the keys we use to unlock the digital products and services we buy or even represent contracts. So the emphasis will be on NFTs that “do something” as opposed to just giving you a picture of a monkey. Trend 3: Decentralized social networks resistant to censorship. You can say whatever you want. But then society will probably have to ultimately decide if that’s a good thing or a nightmare. You people say some pretty wild stuff. Trend 4: Greenifying Web3, which is about stuff like using less energy to mine crypto. But also using Web3 technology to foster green initiatives. And trend five: Growing government intervention and regulation in the Web3 space. Will governments step in to oversee and regulate all things Web3, thus kinda defeating the entire purpose? 5 00:02:35,000 --> 00:03:03,000 We just mentioned buying real estate in the metaverse. Is that a good idea or not? Well one thing I would do to help me figure that out is to ask people who were on fire about metaverse real estate and see if they’re still in flames about it. Inside Hook’s Tobias Carroll tells us about an interview he saw with Jessica Stocker, the founder of Digiland. Digiland’s app could be used to buy and sell space in the metaverse. What does she think now? Well, let’s just say she’s not giving up her real-world real estate job just yet. Oh she still thinks metaverse real estate still definitely has a lot of potential going forward into the future, you know, where the future is. But right now, she sees it mostly as advertising space in a digital world. In other words, it’s like buying a Google ad and saying you just bought virtual real estate on people’s web pages. You’re not a real estate tycoon, you’re pretty much an advertiser. Jessica does pay attention to price fluctuations in the market, though, and when she sees things like land in Decentraland that people bought being down 70%, she can’t even say for sure any of these metaverses are even going to survive. If you buy a townhouse in St. Louis, at least you’re fairly certain St. Louis is going to exist in three years. Fingers crossed St. Louis. But she also says something big could happen that completely changes the market. 6 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Do you know who Will Wright is? If you’re of a certain age and big into what’s happening with the metaverse, you should. He’s the game designer who led development on the Sims and SimCity. These are the OGs of letting you make virtual people and live digital lives other than your own. He hasn’t made a big video game since 2008 but Luke Plunkett writes that all that’s about to change. VOXVerse is a social game where you mine stuff, build stuff, interact with people, and buy real estate. Apparently Will hasn’t talked to Jessica Stocker lately. Anyway, it’s got everything that would qualify it as a metaverse game. And the characters you play as are an existing line of NFTs. The way Luke tells it, Will sounds kind of conflicted about the whole thing. He doesn’t want to be in the NFT selling business but that’s kinda what it is. And the reason it’s on blockchain is he wants secure transactions for content creators. He almost sounds apologetic for all the metaverse elements of it. But the Sims was quirky time-killing fun for a generation so he might once again have the magic touch. 7 00:03:33,000 --> 00:04:01,000 Well as rock legend Ozzy Osbourne always says…oh who know what Ozzy Osbourne is ever saying…but he’s going to be one of the participants in Decentraland’s second annual Metaverse Music Festival November 10-13. In fact, over 100 artists have been secured, including electronic DJ Dillon Francis and rapper Soulja Boy. That’s right, you can throw down to I’m So Important and Weed & Shoes in the metaverse. In fact, the whole point is to showcase the latest tech, like Decentraland’s Emotes, which are special dance moves or even poses you can buy as NFTs. See I couldn’t just buy my Cabbage Patch skills, I had to work at it. Thanks to sponsorship by Kraken, the event is free to you, you don’t need a ticket or VR headgear. Other brands helping out include NFT music platform Limewire, and AR metaverse platform OVER. Producer Iara Dias said the last time they did this they had 80 artists and over 50,000 attendees over four days. It was successful enough they did a New Year’s Eve party in December and Metaverse Fashion Week in March. And the best part of virtual music festivals, no traumatic port-a-potty visits. 8 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:30,000 That’s all we have for you this week. If you’re interested in where all this is going, you’ll want to subscribe to the show. That’s as presumptuous as I can be. And we’ll be back next week. 9 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000 In this short episode you’ll learn: 10 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,000 Why Dubai is considering metaverse cops 11 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,000 Why Interpol is considering global metaverse cops 12 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,000 The five Web3 trends we should be watching in 2023 13 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,000 Whether metaverse real estate enthusiasts are still enthused 14 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,000 What the developer of SimCity is doing now 15 00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Who’s involved in the second annual Decentraland Metaverse Music Festival