The great revolution of the coming years already has a name: metaverse. Latin America needs to get on the train on time and in a convenient position so as not to be relegated to the periphery of the new map, as has happened repeatedly in the past.
If in the field of material production the first industrial revolution can be distinguished from the second, in the field of digital production as well. It is worth distinguishing the different stages: the first digitization in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, the conception of the Internet in the 70s and 80s, the massification from the 90s to the mid-2000s, and the flourishing of smartphones, social networks and e-commerce during the last fifteen years.
In this framework, the metaverse possibly inaugurates the entry into a much more transformed stage of our way of life. The metaverse is the fusion of the real world with the virtual, far beyond what we know today. If until now we had incorporated some virtual applications in our material universe, the metaverse will consist of the opposite process: we will be the ones who will integrate ourselves in multidimensional virtual spaces of augmented reality.
The challenges are countless, and by going through some of those facing Latin America, it will give us an idea of the dimension of the subject and, therefore, of the dimension of the effort that the countries of the region must make if they do not want to be relegated to the periphery of the universe. virtual.
The development of the metaverse is, for the time being, in private hands and everything seems to indicate that it will continue to be so. These are companies that will be even more powerful both in terms of their economic power and in terms of the quantity and quality of information they will deal with on citizens, on other companies and on the States themselves, with a great capacity to influence their governments, agencies , civil organizations and other actors and public decision-making bodies.
It is widely known what happened in Latin America in the 1980s, when large transnational private conglomerates were encouraged to operate under minimal state regulations. It is known, therefore, that regulation is essential. And not just for Latin America: Europe itself already faces the challenge of legislating on the metaverse. In fact, the initiative is not being taken by individual countries, but by the European Union. The sooner Latin American regional integration mechanisms take note of this, the better.
The power of companies operating the metaverse is just one of many areas that will require legislation. For they are not the only ones who will be able to take advantage and eventually abuse their advantages. And it is impossible to predict the opportunities that the metaverse will open up, for example, in the realm of politics: will virtual political parties be created? Will there be an appeal to a virtual audience? Will there be deliberative processes in multidimensional spaces? Or perhaps hologram candidates, driven by algorithms? From the citizen’s point of view, how will their identity be protected if their (semi-)virtual character makes it possible to hack their own bodies and remotely alter their wills? What forms of virtual citizenship will they be entitled to?
Who will be excluded from such citizenship and by virtue of what criteria? How will questions that could not even be ordered correctly in the material world be articulated in a virtual space?
It is to be expected that Latin America is not (at least initially) at the forefront of innovation, for a simple technological issue.
Consequently, it will have to import both the technology and the rules that govern it from the leading countries, and it will have to adapt these rules to its circumstances. Will European, American, Chinese or Russian principles be valid as an ethical, moral and legal foundation for the Latin American virtual society?
The issue is no less: the denunciation of the spiritual, ideological and intellectual colonialism of the West (as a center) on Latin America (as a periphery) has marked the region’s discourse for decades. It would be bad if in the future, despite the warning, Latin America would once again import and imitate foreign ethical and legal codes of those who end up disowning with a victimist tone after some time.
In terms of national and regional policy, the metaverse is expected to generate a large number of jobs. But this will be done in the countries where the developer companies decide to settle: what in the jargon are called metacountries, “meta countries”. What will be the first Latin American metacountry?
Will this new opportunity generate any cooperation or competition between the countries of the region? On the other hand, while these jobs are being created, mostly for software engineers, technology is likely to eliminate traditional jobs. How are Latin American states preparing to face this? As far as international politics are concerned, the metaverse will plunge us into virtuality, but the data that give it substance circulate through physical cables.
They are vast arteries stretched over the seabed, mirroring in the depths of the ocean the geopolitical dynamics of the continent. The logic has been known since antiquity: controlling the passage of a strategic route is an invaluable source of geostrategic power. Examples abound: the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to cross from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea; modern canals, such as the Suez, or in Latin America, the Panama.
The same applies to data pipelines that carry digital information from one end of the world to the other. Competition is underway and is, like the metaverse itself, multidimensional: which private company builds them, which state is behind it, for what reasons do they open or close the byte border, what capacity does each country have to continue functioning if a rival state block the pipes in your possession. And there is more, because piracy, older than the Bosphorus, has its adaptation to the digital context: submarine cables are geostrategically sensitive infrastructure, subject to the risk of espionage and sabotage.
Latin America must make decisions, but it lacks the scientific-technological and economic power to lay its own cables. Which companies will you trust to deploy the fibers that will keep you connected? What guarantees will you have to ensure the privacy of citizens and the State? The metaverse is approaching at full speed. There is no time to lose. What Ortega y Gasset ordered to the Argentines, is now ordered to the rulers of the entire region: Latin Americans, to things.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
