Everyone seems to keep talking about “the Metaverse,” and that includes Bob Iger.
The Walt Disney Company’s former CEO and now former Chairman spoke with Business Insider and explained that behavior moderation is going to be one of the critical problems that will need to be solved.
“I think something Disney is going to have to consider as it talks about creating a metaverse for themselves is moderating and monitoring behavior,” he said.
Iger reportedly “hinted” at Disney actually venturing into the virtual space. After all, the entertainment conglomerate is known for pushing the boundaries of human experiences, and, as he said: “It’s likely to be developed into something real as an experience.”
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According to Insider,
“Iger also predicted there won’t be just one metaverse — a virtual world where people can interact as digital avatars of themselves — but many, and that people’s avatars will ‘go all over the place.'”
But, rather than discussing hurtles in the technical or creative fields, Insider highlights Iger’s thoughts on Disney’s “huge challenge” of deciding “how to moderate and monitor user behavior.”
“There’s been enough said and criticized about toxic behavior in internet 2.0 — Twitter, Facebook, you name it,” he said. “Imagine what can happen when you have a much more compelling and immersive and— I’ll call it collective of people or avatars of people in that environment, and what kind of toxic behavior could happen.”
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It’s safe to say that Disney already has plenty of behavior monitoring experience after having arguably defined the Theme Park Industry for over 65 years. But as time goes on and the physical and digital realms continue to become more intertwined, one has to wonder how the Walt Disney Company will look to enforce restrictions on such virtual platforms. Would Disney emerge on the scene with a metaverse Theme Park or something else?