Where Humanism Meets the Metaverse
This collection of essays will explore why the metaverse should be shaped by humanistic values and ideas of self-determination to create an open and inhabitable realm that respects previously held rights, supercharges innovation, and enables novel self-expression.
Why do people love technology? Because it’s cool, yep. Also because it’s a religious alternative that favours faith in the action of humans over the unknown; promising necessary change, survival, and (hopefully) transcendence.
“Sapiens can cooperate in extremely flexible ways with countless numbers of strangers.”
- Yuval Noah Harari.
If a defining feature of humans has been their ability to imagine and hold collective beliefs and coordinate flexibly and in scale, then any technology that furthers that ability is very handy.
These coordinational upgrades change the nature of the world around humans at different speeds and subtleties, some with a bang, others incrementally, and sometimes in cyclical waves. Although it may appear fated, it would be an error to think that these shifts inevitably occur without agency.
Communities create history through novel means of coordination.
Using these upgrades, there are constant realignments with how we organise, bundling and unbundling from families, tribes, cities, nation-states, and global federations. Within these collectives, early adopters and proponents of technology often manage to gain an (initial) advantage that alters power dynamics: Hyksos and composite bows, Romans and roads, Conquistadors and pistols, and more recently, tech giants/nation-states and the related cybersphere tech stack. But history has often shown us that the long-term moat for general aggregation isn’t wide, especially when access to alternative coordination technology becomes permissionless.
“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
No more so do we currently find such uncharted territory for novel coordination than in the metaverse, the sum of all narratives in digital evolution. Waiting to be settled, conceived in minds, and birthed in code. But when the world of imagination becomes a reality, how it’s governed becomes increasingly vital, and the protection of fundamental rights should scale in tandem.
Unfortunately, this has not happened thus far, and early aggregators have already begun to exploit the citizens within them; left unchecked, this will only get worse. Fortunately, technology has never been deterministic.
The permissionless printing press could be used to spread various ends with differing results. Whilst it inspired a bottom-up global news network that supplanted ecclesiastical permission and kickstarted the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, it also put people out of jobs, started many wars, and spread 'misinformation'. Still, it had a net benefit with enough perspective.
Similarly, there is much to lose or gain in the metaverse, and no more so does that apply to its inhabitants. It can be used as a tool for or against the best aspects of humanity. Citizens will again have a choice regarding their preferred means of coordination; do they want to be ruled or have the chance to rule?
Whilst the choice might have two distinct flavours (centralised or decentralised), it may not be as binary, absolute or static as is usually championed, as the meta[verse]utopia (with its abundant resources, enhanced competition, voluntary participation and right to exit) enables a broader array of preferences.
These essays will explore why a crypto-enabled coordination layer may enable a novel pick 'n' mix of ideology, governance, and economics. The advantages are twofold; whilst offering protection against manipulation and excessive takerates, it can simultaneously supercharge innovation, collaboration and novel self-expression. This potentially superior layer will be chosen rather than given, fluid rather than lasting, and casual rather than rigid, with as much focus on responsibility as on individual gain - within which a new humanistic autonomous agent will be born.
Once the consequences and the benefits of the choice become more apparent, I hope it may not be such a tough decision after all. But don't take my word for it just from the TLDR; find out for yourself.
Enjoyment Guide:
Part 1: An Ideological Primer to the Metaverse
For some parallels between the power struggles of the past and present and using technology to bypass over-centralisation, the awakening of modern humanism, and the role of crypto in the transition to a more neutral and satisfying digital existence.
Part 2: A Humanistic Metaverse
What the metaverse is, how not to get generation-gapped by it, why it is utopia conducive and not just for gamers, and why an open and humanistic inspired approach based on self-determination will likely be more fulfilling than its closed and extractive counterpart.
Part 3: Ownership, Exploration, and Persistence
Why property rights are essential for innovation and expression, novel self-discovery and attachment through avatars, tribes, tokens and reputation, enhanced experience (life) and persistence (death), and the difference between the cathedral (prescriptive and photorealistic) and the bazaar (emergent and homely) approaches to world-building in the metaverse.
Part 4: [Meta] Surveillance and Control
Why a contextual level of privacy may be required to protect inhabitants from some of the more alarming aspects of metaverse manipulation and the erosion of autonomy (experience machines, reality distortion and AI and dataism) and how new tech can exacerbate the existing problem or be part of the solution.
If you’re TLDR-prone or something in particular piques your interest, then you’re in luck. The modular structure means parts or specific sections can be read individually, but the most logical and interwoven experience will be chronological. If you are even shorter on time, an index with subheadings and corresponding questions can be found below so you can jump around at will.
Regarding specific reader enjoyment, the essays follow a progression from primer to niche as a whole (e.g., from the advent of proto-capitalism to AI legal representation for data exchange) and intra-part (e.g., from why property rights may lead to increased productivity to how they can also lead to fear of death for their newly attached avatars).
LEVEL 1: recruit
LEVEL 2: hardened
LEVEL 3: veteran
To cater to different levels of subject familiarity, the reader may find it helpful to target their experience. For example, if you are already familiar with the metaverse and the inherent value and role of crypto within it, congrats, graduate straight to Part 3, Level 2. If you get to Part 4 and are already familiar with the instrumental value of privacy, congrats, graduate to Level 3: veteran to read about how we may struggle to deal with our new probabilistic God without it.
Overall Index:
Part 1: An Ideological Primer to the Metaverse
LEVEL 1: RECRUIT
Power Dynamics Throughout the Past: has any of this happened before?
Humanism and Early Autonomous Agents: what did this mean for the citizens?
The Rise of the Nation-State and Big Tech: who's the captain now?
LEVEL 2: HARDENED
New Tech: scope for new coordination?
Rebundling: why decentralisation?
Part 2: A Humanistic Metaverse
LEVEL 1: RECRUIT
Principled Distinctions: wtf has the Middle Ages → Renaissance got to do with the metaverse?
Practical Distinctions: what's the difference?
LEVEL 2: HARDENED
Meta[verse]utopia: is the metaverse utopia conducive?
The RealityVerse: how to avoid getting generation-gapped?
Ludic <> Non: isn’t the metaverse just for gamers?
Neo-Humanism and Autonomous Agents # 2: why does any of this even matter?
Part 3: Ownership, Exploration, and Persistence
LEVEL 1: RECRUIT
Ownership: why property rights?
The Evolution of Digital Ownership: wen property rights?
Ownership and Innovation: property rights = more innovation?
LEVEL 2: HARDENED
A Neo-Renaissance: what does a new creative revolution look like?
Virtual Worlds, Ownership and Proxy Autonomy: (1) is ownership the only important aspect? (2) who the captain now?
LEVEL 3: VETERAN
Emergent World-Building - Cathedral vs Bazaar: how to frame the two approaches?
Top-Down >< Bottom-Up City Design: does city design = metaverse design?
Cathedral <> Bazaar in Virtual World Design: does software design = metaverse design?
The Sparks that Breed Emergence: who the creative captain now?
How Much Direction: who the creative captain now? contd.
Basic Needs: more BPN in cathedral or bazaar?
Holidays or Hometowns: are we there to live or to experience?
Metaverse Graveyards: why so many empty worlds?
Headsets, Aesthetics and Happiness: is photorealism the highest order good?
Evolutions and Hybrids: who eventually wins the race (does there even need to be one)?
Identity Attachment, Exploration, & Persistence: property rights = novel forms of self-expression and development?
Property Rights <> Avatars: how can property rights assist self-actualisation?
Pixelated Tribalism (PFPs): does this change in a group setting?
Questing for Fulfilment: can property rights enhance the hero’s journey?
Persistent Worlds, Eternal Quests & Competence: do tokens and reputation assist actualisation?
Collaborative Transcendence & Competence: same for tribal transcendence?
Interoperability & Fragmentation: wtf am I?
Loss Aversion, Death & Persistence: property rights = heaven and immortality?
Part 4: [Meta] Surveillance and Control
LEVEL 1: RECRUIT
Introduction: the state of privacy
The Perceptions of Privacy: are all privacy advocates hobgoblins?
The Value of Privacy: is privacy intrinsically valuable?
Contextual and Consensual Privacy: is privacy equally important all the time?
Mini-Recap: whatyatalkinabeet?
Corporate Surveillance and Manipulation: is surveillance a healthy business model?
State Surveillance and Overreach: why do nation-states like surveillance?
LEVEL 2: HARDENED
Shadow Games: who the churches and scribes now?
[Meta]control and Futureproofing: how does this all change in the metaverse?
LEVEL 3: VETERAN
Tweaking Humanism: can humans be hacked?
Echo Chambers → Experience Machines: how will the scope for personalisation evolve?
Information Distortion → Reality Distortion: what’s/who’s da truth?
Network Design: a transition from scale to quality of relatedness?
AI and Dataism: is free will a meme?
The Realignment: is the age of men over?
Phygital Algorithmic Governance: is the meatspace age of men over
Censorship and Control: is the excessive usurpation of internal moral autonomy sensible?
Money & Censorship: can money be used to undermine autonomy?
Reputation Systems & Privacy: another way to combat hobgoblins?
Cautious and Contextual Reputation: what does this middle ground look like?
Onchain Transparency and Pseudonymity: surveillance conducive?
Free-Market Autonomy: how much does autonomy cost?
Threading the Needle: where forth art though pragmatic solution?
An Autonomy-Focused Solution: this is the way?
DMs are open for criticism, discussion, and shilling from anyone building in any of these areas.
Many thanks for all the feedback, especially Lamia, as well as Dezzix, Ed Brodie, Charlotte Kent, Cosmo, and the IDT team.
Aside from those linked, here is an extensive list of resources used (there will be some crossover between those linked and listed).
Enjoy and happy levelling!