The metaverse is on its way. It, like all technical innovation, opens up new possibilities while also posing new threats.

The metaverse is a virtual reality version of the internet in which users can interact with digital objects and digital representations of themselves and others, as well as move freely between virtual environments. It can also include augmented reality, which combines virtual and physical worlds by depicting people and objects from the real world in the virtual world and bringing the virtual into people’s views of real-world spaces.

People will be able to socialize, worship, and work in surroundings where the borders between environments and the digital and physical are permeable by wearing virtual reality headsets or augmented reality glasses. People will be able to discover purpose and enjoy experiences in the metaverse in tandem with their offline life.

That’s where the problem begins. Taking something away from someone who has grown to love it, whether it is digital, real, or a combination of both can bring emotional grief and suffering. To put it another way, the things that people value become weaknesses that can be exploited by those who wish to hurt them. People with nefarious intentions are already considering the metaverse as a possible weapon.

We see a potential dark side to the metaverse as terrorism researchers at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Its evolution provides new avenues for extremists to exercise influence through fear, menace, and compulsion, despite the fact that it is still under construction. The metaverse has the potential to become a new area for terrorist activities, based on studies on malevolent creativity and invention conducted by cryptonews. 

To be clear, we are not opposed to the concept of the metaverse and, in fact, are enthusiastic about its potential for human growth. However, we anticipate that the metaverse’s emergence will expose new weaknesses and provide new ways to exploit them. Here are three ways the metaverse will complicate efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism, while this list is not exhaustive.

Recruitment

To begin with, online recruitment and engagement are trademarks of modern extremism, and the metaverse threatens to increase this capacity by making it simpler for people to meet up. Someone today interested in hearing what Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has to say might read an article on his anti-government philosophy or view a video of him addressing his members about impending martial law. Tomorrow, Rhodes or his AI stand-in will be able to sit on a virtual park bench with any number of potential followers and tempt them with visions of the future, thanks to the metaverse’s combination of artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

In a virtual rose garden or lecture hall, a “resurrected” bin Laden may meet with potential followers. Extremist leaders now have a new ability to form and maintain virtual ideological and social communities, as well as potent, difficult-to-disrupt ways of extending their ranks and domains of influence, thanks to the burgeoning metaverse.

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Coordination

Second, the metaverse provides new ways for a dispersed membership to coordinate, plan, and execute acts of damage. An assassination attempt on the White House? Extremist commanders may create virtual settings with reproductions of any physical building, allowing them to conduct members through pathways leading to critical objectives, with enough reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

Members could learn viable and efficient routes, arrange alternate routes if some are blocked, and create numerous contingency plans in the event of unexpected events. Augmented reality artifacts such as virtual arrows can be used to lead violent extremists and identify marked targets when carrying out an attack in the real world.

Violent extremists can plot from the comfort of their living rooms, basements, or backyards, all while forming social bonds and trust among their peers, and all while assuming the digital avatar form of their choice. Because of their experience in the metaverse, these groups are likely to be better prepared than today’s radical groups when they issue orders for action in the real world.

new objectives

Finally, new virtual and mixed reality environments open up the possibility of new targets. Buildings, events, and individuals can all be assaulted in the actual world, and the same can be done in the virtual world. Imagine swastikas on synagogues, disruptions in real-life activities such as banking, shopping, and work, and public events being ruined.

For violent extremists who could replay the fall of the twin towers, a 9/11 commemoration event built and hosted in the virtual domain would be a tempting target. A metaverse wedding could be ruined by attackers who object to the couple’s religious or gendered match. These activities would have a psychological impact as well as real-world consequences.

It may be tempting to downplay the hazards posed by this hybrid virtual-physical environment by stating that it isn’t real and thus irrelevant. However, as Nike prepares to offer virtual shoes, it’s important to remember that money will be spent in the metaverse. Real money equals real jobs, and real jobs equal the risk of losing very real livelihoods.

A person who destroys an augmented or virtual reality firm suffers a genuine financial loss. Virtual locations, like physical ones, can be planned and crafted with care, thereby gaining the value that people place on objects in which they have invested time and ingenuity. Furthermore, as technology becomes smaller and more embedded into people’s daily lives, it may become more difficult to just turn off the metaverse and disregard the harm.

Getting ready for the next (virtual) world

So, how do we deal with these new dangers and vulnerabilities? It is legitimate for businesses to warn that hate speech or violence would not be tolerated, or that extremists will be detected and barred from their virtual venues. We applaud such undertakings, but we are skeptical that they are credible, especially in light of recent disclosures about Meta’s hazardous activity on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Hatred and division have a monetary value.

Who and how can act as credible single guardians of the metaverse if corporations can’t?

Although a fully functional metaverse is still years away, the potential hazards posed by the metaverse demand immediate consideration from a wide range of people and groups, including academic researchers, those building the metaverse, and those charged with defending society. Threats necessitate thinking about the metaverse as much as or more creatively than individuals with malicious intent. This new reality requires everyone to be prepared.