MDE#14 MDE Digest & Future Insights
Exploring Past Editions, Eyeing Tomorrow š
Here we are: the end of the year is already around the corner! Iām celebrating it with a digest of all previous MDE editions & a 2-minute survey to have your say on the next editions.
ā³ 5 min read
Itās incredible to see how, with one monthly edition and such a niche topic, this newsletter has grown from 0 to more than 500 readers worldwide. Among you are top leaders in the XR field, researchers, policymakers, and governmental institutions.
Thanks to all of you for being here today! š
When starting this project a year and a half ago, little did I know where it would lead me. I started it to democratize hermetic scientific discussions around data privacy, digital identity, and ethics in plain language that professionals in XR and policymakers interested in the topic would dive into.
The truth is that after doing a Ph.D., I realized that most scientific knowledge gets lost on the golden shelfā¦ waiting there, getting dusty. So, why not bring it to life in a more fun & easy format?
This newsletter steers the conversation around data privacy and ethics in the metaverse with resources and some reports that are pretty niche and worth checking.
š As for the evolution of this platform, I am planning a complete revamp at some point in 2024, where I will prioritize live exchanges with professionals over a written formatāpure experimentation.
š Wanna have your say on this revamp? Is there something you would like to see in an upcoming edition? Tell me what you think by taking this quick survey.
You may think: āAnother survey?? Noooā¦ā As you know, this newsletter is pure altruism to help the XR space evolve. So, if you love this newsletter, share 2 mins of your time with me to help me improve. Your feedback is invaluable.
Letās discover what awaits us on the horizon in 2024!
Looking back
This newsletter has evolved clearly towards metaverse data privacy and policy.
I feel like Obelix, who fell into the magic potion.
Thanks to my Ph.D., I fell into a magic data potion that opened my eyes to the stakes of data privacy in the metaverse and its pressing policy relevance.
After all, data is the new currency in the 21st century, being traded here and there.
Data privacy is about us: our lives, who we are, how we relate to others, our thoughts and even our ideological convictions.
Algorithmic harvesting is getting so refined with applications such as ChatGPT or even Threads (Meta) that user profiling is getting more and more advanced.
āBut I donāt care about data privacy.ā
This is the answer I get from several close friends.
You may not care as of today. Companies with such profiling abilities are mostly the ones in tech (i.e., Meta, Tesla, Amazon). However, the field is evolving rapidly, and the danger comes when advanced data profiling tools may be embedded in larger areas of our lives, such as healthcare.
Thinking about dystopian futures, we might get to a point where you wonāt be able to get medical insurance because very advanced profiling tools may have harvested information indicating that you may be prone to certain illnesses.
Is that a future we want?
Should we care?
The time to take action is now, not in some years, once itāll be too lateā¦
In the metaverse, the data collected is not only about basic informationāsuch as email, age, and nameābut about sensitive biometric data and behavior patterns unique to each of usāsuch as hand, body, eye, and facial tracking.
Our privacy rights are getting eroded little by littleā¦ and we are not even noticing that they are fading. Right?
For a general overview of this newsletter, here come the most popular editions:
MDE#02 Metaverse Data Privacy 1. Biometric data harvesting in XR based on āExploring the Unprecedented Privacy Risks of the Metaverseā from UC Berkeley and the Technical University of Munich.
MDE#10 Vision Proās Biofeedback Edge. Vision Proās biofeedback patents āreadā the user to provide a magic, seamless experience.
MDE#13 Regulating the Metaverse. Summary of the debate on regulating the metaverse at AWE EU 2023 (Vienna).
MDEās 2022/23 summary
Below is a compendium of all the previous newsletters. Find your gem š
MDE#00 The Metaverse: Trick or Treat? For an overview of the motivations behind this newsletter and the importance of data in XR.
MDE#01 The 10 Commandments. Describing 10 rules to address the ethical challenges in the metaverse.
MDE#02 Metaverse Data Privacy 1. Biometric data harvesting in XR based on āExploring the Unprecedented Privacy Risks of the Metaverseā from UC Berkeley and the Technical University of Munich.
MDE#03 The Metaverseās Arrhythmia. The hype around the metaverse, especially following the massive layoff of 13% of Metaās workforce.
MDE#04 Tech Check-up. The high-maintenance relationship with tech. Tools for a family tech check-up.
MDE#05 Becoming Inclusive. XR accessibility guide for AR/VR creators and recommendations for policymakers.
MDE#06 Metaverse Data Privacy 2. Going incognito in the metaverse with MetaGuard plug-in to safeguard data in XR.
MDE#07 The Digital Markets Act. Overview of the DMA and the effects on the metaverse.
MDE#08 Avatars and Identity. The transition towards interactive avatars and why should we care.
MDE#09 How to Speak Up in XR. Interview XR pioneer Avi Bar-Zeev to speak up on ethical topics when working in a tech company.
MDE#10 Vision Proās Biofeedback Edge. Vision Proās biofeedback patents that āreadā the user to provide a magic, seamless experience.
MDE#11 Beyond Surveillance. The erosion of anonymity and privacy in the metaverse and the challenge it represents for citizen rights and protection.
MDE#12 Navigating XR Data. XR Privacy Risk Assessment based on the XRSI Framework.
MDE#13 Regulating the Metaverse. Debate summary on regulating the metaverse at AWE EU 2023 (Vienna).
NEW OF THE PAST MONTH:Ā I participated here and there in several events for Lynx Mixed Reality; one of them was an invitation to Science Poās Deep Tech & Entrepreneurship class (picture below).
Thanks for reading until the end! I am looking forward to having you as part of this expanding community. Just click below š to keep updated on the next ones.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not represent the views or opinions of my current or any past employer.