Citizen participation in the metaverse
Di. 16. Mai 2023 | 10:00 Uhr–11:30 Uhr MESZ | Online
What can democratic participation in the metaverse look like in concrete terms?
In 2021, Meta Platforms unveiled its vision of the Metaverse, sparking a debate about the future of the digital world. While some see the Metaverse as a promising new environment, others see it as a potential threat to our already polarized world or a place where people take refuge in alternative realities. Echoing the expectations and concerns raised about online social networks in the early 2010s, the question is who will ensure that the Metaverse, should it become “the next big thing,” is a democratic and deliberative space. What can democratic participation in the metaverse look like in very concrete terms? For example, how could cities and municipalities use immersive systems to allow citizens to participate?
Digital participation platforms enable citizens to participate in local decision-making processes, such as urban planning, asynchronously and from any location. At the same time, however, these platforms fail in picking up the broad population. On the one hand, this is due to general barriers to participation processes, and on the other hand to the usability of the digital tools. In different studies, advantages of the use of immersive systems for participatory urban planning could be worked out. This article will present results and discuss how cities and municipalities can use the metaverse to allow their citizens to participate in the further development of their immediate environment. Approaches of digital twins will be presented and at the same time it will be discussed how more inclusive immersive systems can be developed together with different actors in the sense of a democratization of technology development.
Event with, among others: Dr. Jonas Fegert (Head of Department Information Management and Analytics, Information Process Engineering (IPE), FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik) & Paulina Porten (Creative Technologist & Interaction Designer).
The event will be held in German language.