Police in the Metaverse, the rise of the Agents

Interpol is investigating how to police crime in the Metaverse, a concept of 3D avatars in the future. To stay ahead of criminals, they have created a VR space where users can do training and attend virtual meetings. Interpol must respond quickly to new technologies to maintain trust in the Metaverse. Officers can experience the Metaverse, giving them a sense of the crimes that could occur and how they could be policed.

As virtual reality continues to become increasingly popular, so too are the potential risks associated with it. While the Metaverse has opened up new possibilities for communication and entertainment, it has also made a darker side of crime possible. Criminals have taken advantage of this developing technology to perpetrate various types of crimes. Examples include cyberbullying, hacking and identity theft in social media networks, child exploitation through video games or virtual worlds, fraud through virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and other digital assets, copyright infringement via 3D printing or software piracy, financial scams using in-game currency systems, sexual assault or harassment via online chat rooms or avatars representing real people in immersive environments like Second Life. All these activities put users at risk of both physical and emotional harm. 

However, the announcement from Interpol comes at a time when worldwide police forces have been constructing a surveillance network and enforcing suppression of free speech. The emergence of surveillance states in the Metaverse is a growing threat with governments increasingly collecting personal data about their citizens worldwide. There are heightened concerns about how this data will be used and whether it could interfere with our right to freedom of expression or our right to privacy. In virtual worlds like the Metaverse, where people have an even greater degree of anonymity than they do in other online spaces, governments could use this information to track users’ activities, censor certain types of content or restrict access to particular websites. 

The implications of autonomy and artificial intelligence (AI) built into Metaverse platform technology has been a controversial topic in recent years, with many fearing that it could lead to an oppressive police state. Autonomy refers to the ability of machines or software to act without direct external control, and AI is a computer system capable of performing tasks normally requiring human intelligence. With this technology being used by police authorities, there is a potential for extreme surveillance measures that could strip citizens of their privacy rights and freedoms. In addition, autonomous systems equipped with facial recognition technology can be used for mass surveillance. AI-driven algorithms can make decisions about who should be targeted for investigation based on certain criteria such as race or gender—a practice that has already been criticised as discriminatory by civil liberties groups. The combination of increasing autonomy and AI in law enforcement creates the risk of an unchecked power dynamic between individuals and government agencies – one in which people are increasingly subject to intrusive monitoring without any real oversight or accountability from those enforcing laws.

Interpol’s presence in the Metaverse has raised several concerns about its potential implications on freedom of speech and expression. Interpol’s ability to track and surveil people may severely restrict what people can say or do without fear of repercussion, whether through censorship or intimidation tactics. In addition, there is a risk that authoritarianism will become increasingly entrenched as Interpol gains more control over the virtual world. Transparency and accountability are also challenging to maintain when power is concentrated in one entity, especially with regard to their data collection practices. As such, it is essential for citizens to be conscious about where their data is going and how authorities might use it like Interpol.

An alternative to Interpol’s presence in the Metaverse is decentralised governance. This involves having a more distributed form of control and decision-making, with no single entity holding too much power over the virtual world. Instead, citizens would be able to exercise control over their own data and activities online through collective decision-making processes that could exist outside the purview of any central authority like Interpol. This could also help ensure that everyone has an equal say in how their digital lives are governed, providing for greater transparency and accountability overall.

By placing emphasis on user rights rather than governments or corporations, citizens can gain more control over their personal information as well as what content they create or consume online without fear of censorship or surveillance. Such systems could involve empowering users with tools to manage their privacy settings or giving them access to dispute-resolution mechanisms if something goes wrong while using the platform. It would also require increased collaboration between public institutions, private organisations, civil society groups, tech companies and other stakeholders to ensure that all voices are heard when it comes to crafting policy decisions related to virtual worlds.

Decentralised governance structures provide an alternative solution that could help ensure greater transparency and accountability while also empowering citizens with control over their data and activities online. Citizen-centric regulations can also be employed to give users more say in how their virtual worlds are governed by giving them access to privacy settings as well as dispute resolution mechanisms. Ultimately, it is essential for all stakeholders—public institutions, private organisations, civil society groups, tech companies and others—to collaborate in order to craft effective policy decisions that protect user rights in the digital age.