[한국방송/이광일기자] The government has published ethical principles to be applied in the ‘Metaverse’, which spread to various industries such as people’s daily life and manufacturing, medical care and construction.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the publication of ‘Metabus Ethical Principles’ which support a collaborative ecosystem of creativity and innovation at the Ministerial Meeting on Social Relations held on the 28th.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the metaverse expands opportunities for immersive experiences and active participation through the convergence of information and communication technology and virtual convergence technology. As a result, many people expect the metaverse to become a space for creativity and innovation.
However, on the other hand, various ethical and social issues have emerged within the metaverse, such as unethical behavior towards virtual selves, exposure and distribution of harmful content to children and young people, extensive new forms of collection personal information, and inequality in terms of access to As a preventive countermeasure, the need to establish a code of ethics based on the capabilities and autonomy of civil society is also raised.
Accordingly, the government formed a research group with 12 experts in the fields of ethics, information protection, law, and engineering, focusing on the Korea Information and Communication Policy Institute, from May, and began discussing ethical principles in the metaverse.
Based on the results of a survey of 2,626 people between the ages of 20 and 69 across the country, the study group identified experiences, perceptions, and concerns about using Metabus, and compared and analyzed domestic and foreign ethical standards in the information and communication field. of life have been collected from the ‘Metabus Economic Revitalisation Public-Private TF’.
The ‘Metaverse Ethical Principles’ is a virtual society where all members of society affected by the process of developing, operating and using the Metaverse can consider in advance the benefits that the Metaverse will bring in the future and the ethical issues and the use that goes with it. them in voluntary clean-up efforts It is self-regulation
In order to maximize the potential of the metaverse, participants and stakeholders in the metaverse must pursue three oriented values: ‘whole self’, ‘safe experience’, and ‘sustainable prosperity’.
In the metaverse, each individual must be faithful to the value of the life he has chosen and act independently (whole self).
In addition, society must create a safe ecosystem (safe experience) so that members can fully experience the metaverse.
No one should be deliberately excluded so that everyone can enjoy the benefits and advantages of the metaverse, and it must continue (sustainable prosperity) to future generations.
In order to systematically practice these principles, the Ethical Principles also suggest eight practical principles: openness, autonomy, reciprocity, respect for privacy, fairness, protection of personal information, inclusion, and responsibility.
Autonomy is the concept that users decide whether to participate in the metaverse and how to act on their own without outside interference. In the virtual world, as in the real world, there can be things that cause displeasure to others or invade private areas, and developers, operators and users all demand that other virtual private areas be protected .
In addition, in order to ensure fairness within the metaverse, developers and operators must protect creations and present the process of distributing rewards transparently, and users or stakeholders must respect the rights of other creations.
In addition, inclusivity, which guarantees access to and use of the metabus without discrimination based on race, gender, nationality, economic level, political/religious beliefs or physical characteristics, was also chosen as a practical principle.
Metaverse’s ethical principles do not place the burden of compliance solely on specific entities within the Metaverse ecosystem, and emphasize the cooperation and responsibility of all participants in the Metaverse.
In addition, as a soft standard that is not legally binding, all participants can refer to it in the process of using and using the metaverse for the metaverse that contributes to economic progress and innovation while improving the well-being of individuals and society and the public good.
In addition, the Ministry of Science and ICT explains that all stakeholders, such as academia, investors, and education, are directly or indirectly affected by the metaverse even if they do not take directly involved in the process of developing, operating and using the metaverse, also able to use the metaverse ethical principles.
Park Yoon-gyu, 2nd Vice Minister of Science and ICT, said, “The metabus will be a space where everyday life is expanded by converging with various fields such as e-commerce, education, and medical care.” We will not save any systematic system. help create an excellent metaverse ecosystem so that future generations can enjoy sustainable prosperity throughout the metaverse.”
Enquiries: Digital Content Division, Ministry of Science and ICT 044-202-6352
