Former British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock has uploaded his likeness to the Metaverse on Wednesday as an avatar in a collaboration with IT consultancy firm Whitespace.
In a virtual space hosted on Whitespace’s Shift platform, Hancock, represented by an avatar and recorded video, stated that people had the opportunity to ensure the Metaverse was “open and free, defined by open standards [and] not by a small number of organisations.”
Hitting at the news and social media, Hancock explained that just a small number of groups “set the rules of the game for the town square and the public discourse.”
“If you’re one of the richest people in the world, you can buy one of those town squares in order to explicitly set the rules of the game as you see fit. [I] think that the public discourse needs a democratic basis [and] needs to be based on open standards, and a free and open environment in which all newcomers are able to contribute”
He also urged protocols for Metaverse safety to protect online users while allowing free communication between groups. He added the Metaverse would also provide immense benefits such as communication for mobility-impaired people who were unable to travel, as well as opening opportunities to people who have been unable to previously access it due to circumstances.
He concluded
What will really spark new ways of thinking and working [are] the new connections between parts of the Metaverse. It’s the connectivity and deep integration of economic life embedded in the Metaverse from the get-go, which will have the most transformative impact in ways that we simply don’t yet know.
Andrew Webber, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer for Whitespace, explained that Hancock’s view on the Metaverse and Web3 “throws a fascinating light” on opportunities businesses had to work with lawmakers to build best practices “to the benefit of all.”
Whitespace Sets Sail Across the Metaverse
According to a blog post in late May, Webber wrote that to date, enterprises are considering the “relevance and application” of the Metaverse and Web3 technologies “to their own digital transformation and business model evolution.”
Citing Accenture’s mass adoption of XR technologies, namely after providing 60,000 virtual reality (VR) headsets to onboard new hires, he stated he would “watch with great interest” the company’s exploration of collaborative and productivity tools.
Whitespace does better than Meta? Today we announced working with Matt Hancock in the Metaverse. We think Matt’s Avatar totally trumps Mark Zuckerberg’s out the gates 🙂 #Metaverse #Avatar #Web3 #Meta #BelfastTech #NITech pic.twitter.com/3ElisJgiag
— Whitespace (@whitedotspace) August 24, 2022
Whitespace’s own enterprise digital collaboration platform Shift is set to launch in the next few months to experiment with the Metaverse and its benefits to collaboration, project delivery, and connections.
He wrote,
“What we have found is that our ambition is not matched by what the Metaverse technology can currently do”
He added that businesses would need to advance Metaverse development by meeting requirements for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and major firms, leading to new revenue streams and customer experiences (CX).
Explaining further, he added,
“I am sure over the coming months we will share our experiences in creating new collaboration experiences within the Metaverse for the Enterprise and, I am sure, it will be a combination of transparent frustration being limited by the technology mixed with the excitement and potential of what it can be”
Hancock’s statements come as UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who hopes to become the next British Prime Minister, said in April he planned to position the UK as a “global hub for cryptoasset technology.”
Downing Street aims to promote emerging technologies across workforces after launching fresh regulations for stablecoins in the British economy via HM Treasury’s “financial market infrastructure sandbox” to back companies and startups with support from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The Sandbox programme will serve as an accelerator for innovating emerging technologies and financial instruments, as well as minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via the Royal Mint and founding a Cryptoasset Engagement group, among other efforts
The Government also hosted an augmented reality (AR) Careers Fair in February hosted to attract young workforces seeking upskilling on Snap’s AR Lens spatial computing platform.
Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Center also hosted an event in March to promote a cohort of five Saudi immersive developers, showcasing their Meta Quest 2-based creations at a gala event at London’s County Hall.
Numerous experts from Saudi Aramco, Digital Catapult, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Unity Technologies supported the cohort to train, guide, and provide expert knowledge on designing creative content.
