This Monday, World Economic Forum (WEF) advisors Ravin Jesuthasan, Senior Partner and Global Leader for Transformation Services, Mercer, and George Zarkadakis, Senior Fellow, GeoTech Centre of the Atlantic Council, posted a report exploring the role of extended reality (XR) technologies in the future of the work.
The WEF representatives spoke positively of immersive technologies such as cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the blockchain, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Forum members explained that while Web3 solutions continue to emerge, the Metaverse is “already here.” The WEF speaks highly of the Metaverse’s prospect of revolutionizing work methodologies.
The group also takes intrigue into the ways Web3 and DAO platforms can digitally reconnect businesses and communities.
The WEF post stated,
“As decentralized autonomous organizations are adopted more widely, new types of businesses will emerge that would look more like cooperatives and less than corporations, significantly reducing agency costs”
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
The WEF contributors explore the role of DAOs and whether the technology infrastructure can supply businesses with reliable operational networks.
DAOs provide businesses with ‘flat’ workplace structures, as opposed to hierarchical ones, giving stakeholder communities more power over conventional executives.
In the report, the WEF states that Meteverse and DAO-ready firms can gain greater agility, thanks to reorganized talent pools which enable work to flow to talent.
Additionally, the WEF outlines how DAO infrastructures can alter traditional roles like a leader, manager, employee, contractor and vendor. DAO value propositions change how a core group of employees coordinate and deliver work.
The technology can also provide broader contributor groups that assist with enterprise operations. Firms can digitally reach out to gig economy-style workforces operating on Metaverse or DAO platforms to provide HR, finance, accounting, and customer experience services.
The WEF also outlines how DAO platforms help to connect brands and businesses with audiences. In the report, the contributors explain how a digital community has broader audience members that can help with brand promotion and, for smaller brands, even help with crowdsourcing projects.
The World Economic Forum’s Response
The WEF is eagerly responding to emerging XR technology and has introduced steps intended to help companies enter the immersive space for the first time:
- Create, or adopt, a DAO platform that enables a broader community of stakeholders for brand audience-based promotion, funding, and innovation.
- Outsource environmental, social, and governance goals to DAO workers.
- Identify internal goals which DAO or Metaverse services can enhance.
The forum is building a multi-stakeholder community over the coming year led by global representatives of the private sector, civil society, academia, and government, and has also focused on regulating metaverse governance, economies, and social value through recommended regulatory frameworks that promote XR innovation that benefits society.
