Metaverse: Virtual Worlds and What You Need to Know

The metaverse promises to reshape the way we work, learn, create and socialise. The intention behind the metaverse is to develop different asymmetric virtual worlds. These digital environments are three-dimensional virtual spaces where people, represented by avatars, can interact, work and share experiences in real time. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and risks of the metaverse and how Extended Reality (XR), digital twins, and AI can shape careers, digital interactions, and challenge our personal safety boundaries.

What is the metaverse?

The term metaverse was coined by N. Stephenson in 1992 and has been changing continuously. It started as a promise of a safe virtual world, a new kind of internet mix between reality and a digital environment. The initial science fiction vision resembles a large-scale multiplayer online game. Nowadays, there are different interpretations about its implementation, and there is no agreement on metaverse definitions.

The metaverse universe is a digital immersive imitation of the real world; it offers socialising, gaming, shopping, and working. This mix of the physical world with virtual images allows people to control how they are perceived. This is because metaverse users can customise their virtual appearance and digital space to be comfortable and free to enjoy themselves.

Services and products using immersive technologies

Today’s metaverse trends are shifting away from the original fictional idea to a virtual model with social and economic implications. The entire ecosystem, products, and services will be created through code and technological infrastructure.

The complexity of this endeavour and the technical resources involved in mimicking our real world might seem like a utopia. However, big tech companies are working on it, and other organisations aim to get involved. They promise to create marketplaces that enhance our experiences with their services and products using immersive technologies.

The metaverse will become a reality for several industries, which use it to optimise their operations, safety, and training. Technologies such as digital twins, AR, and AI-driven simulations are already in place in sectors such as manufacturing, urban planning, and energy.

Training simulations and immersive learning

For now, the metaverse seems a valuable ideal and a good investment in the future. Different organisations use this concept and present their products, services, games, stories, and visions. All of these real items are to be transposed into a digital virtual environment. Similarly, they should follow the physical laws and regulations of our real world and offer us an enhanced immersive experience.

Probably the most useful application of the metaverse will be in our education. In combination with AI, the metaverse moves beyond traditional instruction. Through an intelligent AI tutor, it can analyse learners’ pace and behaviours, adjusting the learning content or providing useful feedback.

Furthermore, learning and training will benefit from creating virtual classrooms, complex training simulations, and immersive learning experiences. For example, NYU College of Dentistry has trained students using VR in anaesthesia procedures, allowing for repetitive practice without the real risks or costs of materials.

Essential Skills for the future metaverse

In the near future, we will need to familiarise ourselves with the tools and technologies that power interconnected metaverse platforms. The question is, what skills will we need to interact properly with these virtual worlds? In order to adapt to such a dynamic and interactive environment, we need an open mind and a lifelong learning mindset.

The metaverse development faces technical and socio-economic challenges, such as infrastructure costs and privacy concerns about data collection. Technologically, the metaverse relies on a blend of Extended Reality (XR)—which includes Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality—alongside Generative AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain for digital ownership.

So, anyone who enjoys video games, game fantasies, virtual lands and simulated environments will easily adapt. Video gamers, 3D or 4D enthusiasts, and e-sports players already have the technical skills to manage within metaverse environments. Not only will they do better with web3 tech, but new career paths are already available for them.

Even if most people are not comfortable or familiar with AR glasses and haptic feedback devices, the number of mobile augmented reality (AR) apps is gradually increasing. According to Statista, the number of active users of AR experiences on mobile devices is estimated to be 1.07 billion and is expected to reach 1.19 billion by 2028.

Industrial metaverse: career and risks you need to know

Building fictional virtual worlds requires a diverse and complex set of skills. Cross-industry technical and soft skills, like design, gaming, social interaction, animation, and blockchain, are needed to develop this new interactive digital world. Envisioning how components combine to create a digital environment with a solid infrastructure is a complex effort.

The Metaverse Standards Forum aims to develop open standards for the industrial metaverse. In this context, the metaverse development relies on a combination of spatial computing, interactive 3D assets, AI, and geospatial systems to create a global industry platform. The industrial metaverse is a collaborative and interoperable environment where designers, manufacturers, and builders can make faster decisions.

Recent research indicates that the industrial metaverse is rapidly growing. This particular metaverse focuses on optimising industrial operations, enhancing product design, and improving manufacturing processes. Industries such as automotive, construction, and healthcare have already begun integrating Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies into their core workflows.

This expansion is driven by three factors: digital twins, real-time virtual replicas of physical systems; immersive training environments that reduce risk and cost, and the increasing integration of Generative AI, which accelerates design, simulation, and decision-making across industrial settings.

Emerging metaverse career paths worth exploring

Core technical roles in the metaverse demand interconnected competencies in a professional evolving landscape. The careers emerging in this space have a wide range of specialisations — from the highly technical to the creative: decentralised technologies, game engines, industrial simulations, 3D design, spatial computing, data science, and AI. Within the industrial metaverse, several distinct career paths are emerging:

• Digital Twin Architects or Designers for managing virtual replicas of physical systems, from manufacturing plants to entire cities, enabling real-time monitoring and simulation.
• Blockchain Engineers for building the secure infrastructure behind virtual economies, applying expertise in decentralised systems, NFTs, smart contracts, and distributed networks to ensure transparency and trust across platforms.
• Robotics and Automation Specialists for bringing subject matter expertise to the design and management of automated production processes, bridging the physical and digital factory floor.
• AI Engineers develop and oversee AI-driven solutions that power intelligent decision-making, predictive systems, and adaptive environments within metaverse applications.

Overall, these types of jobs reflect that the metaverse is becoming a real and serious ecosystem that demands highly specialised technical talent and subject matter expertise.

avatars, Identity and social interactions

Metaverses revolve around the idea of opening new doorways to a second world within the digital realm. Like the possibility of cosmic multiverses where parallel realities coexist, each with its own rules and identities, the metaverse is a digital universe. You can interact with people through avatars, communicate, connect, and engage in work or relaxation activities.

Furthermore, an avatar holds a virtual identity tied to a real person, and the image we choose to project. Also, avatars are a close representation of our personality traits, gender, and ethnicity. We can think of them as an artificial extension of ourselves, and use them for work, entertainment, digital art, or creative activities.

Just like in human social interactions, the avatars’ social interactions need to follow rules and moral principles and avoid offensive, aggressive, or ill-intended behaviours. However, we should not forget that behind an avatar is a real person who can choose certain personality traits and hide others, as it happens with social media profiles.

Applying rules to avatars that represent the user’s real identity is a complex issue. The owner of the avatar has to take responsibility for its behaviour. Still, it’s difficult to imagine the punishment of a virtual identity by real laws and not consider this a distant dystopia. But no matter how many rules public authorities implement, the metaverse providers will have control over the data generated by users.

Metaverse, like all technologies, has important effects on people’s minds and behaviours. After all, human nature is unpredictable, and how people will behave within the metaverse is up to their free will. What side of their personality will prevail in a virtual dispute depends on their circumstances and personal choices.

Therapeutic benefits and security risks in the metaverse

The metaverse influences the human psyche through complex, sensory, and emotional experiences displayed in the digital environment. Thus, several studies show that VR applications and gamification therapies can reduce anxiety. Also, it decreases depression and improves sleep quality when led and designed by psychotherapists and medical specialists. Gamified therapies and immersive environments are used for exposure therapy in phobias and anxiety.

However, the beneficial effect depends on individual circumstances and the application context. For example, VR training can simulate high-stress conditions, allowing users to refine their skills in a safe, controlled medium. As users in a metaverse, people can assume an identity, possess desired skills and traits, and create a persona and environments suitable to their aims.

In addition, the sense of control over virtual images and digital environments has therapeutic benefits. Also, it can make people fall into addiction traps. Researchers indicate that the metaverse’s impact on human psychology depends on the user’s social context, age, location, and mental health. 

Moreover, though it avoids the costs and risks of developing complex skills, it demands technical knowledge and awareness of mental issues and cybersecurity risks. While the metaverse offers benefits, it presents significant risks to people’s health and privacy. Most studies on the metaverse’s effects on health¹ revealed several possible risks.

The metaverse’s possible risks for health and privacy

1. Addiction behaviours – virtual space and interaction become more important than real life
2. Avoidance – escape from daily stress, real-life confrontations and challenges
3. Sleep disruption – excessive use can disrupt users’ circadian rhythms
4. Cyber sickness – physical discomfort like motion sickness, nausea, dizziness, and headaches
5. Disconnection from reality – deep immersion can lead users to lose track of time or to feel confused and not connect with their physical bodies
6. Social isolation – virtual interactions have no emotional depth, users are digitally connected but socially isolated, often lacking social skills
7. Privacy and security risks – platforms collect biometric and personal data, making cyberbullying and harassment, data theft and deep fakes possible
8. Self-censorship –  users may act under the assumption of being watched, causing loss of autonomy, literally their sense of independence

The challenge of data privacy and the safety of users

Metaverse futuristic worlds, reality, and interconnectivity are blending the rules of our earthly existence with digital technology. As with everything newly created by technology and involving social interactions, the metaverse poses long-term risks to users’ privacy.

However, we need to agree on different rules for each platform to benefit from the functionalities across digital platforms. Metaverse providers need to verify users’ accounts to track their activities and avoid bots and fake accounts. Using technical cookies that are part of data collection and processing could render mandatory consent useless. Large amounts of personal data can be processed without us having to control it.

Nevertheless, with the metaverse platforms, we might get a virtual version of the rule of law. Ultimately, legislators will pass laws to prevent negative attitudes or abusive behaviour toward each other. An example that illustrates the adaptation of rules is Meta’s 4-foot rule related to personal safety boundaries.

Thus, similar to the imagined multiverses of science and fiction, the metaverse holds infinite possibilities. Humanity’s history is a good teacher, and shows that laws will change to make room for innovations, especially if there are financial opportunities. So, how people choose to use the metaverse will shape both worlds, real or virtual. Let’s stay informed and make educated decisions about how to use the metaverse.

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