Metaverse Safety Week 2023 convened as a five-day series of global roundtables, held as AI increasingly intertwined with emerging immersive technologies — a moment the event described as a transformative crossroads bringing both new possibilities and escalating risks around data misuse and rights infringement. https://metaversesafetyweek.org/2023-edition/
Day 1, December 10, opened on International Human Rights Day with “Human Rights in the AI-Powered Immersive Worlds,” co-hosted with the Australian Human Rights Commission. Marking the 75th anniversary of Human Rights Day, the roundtable examined neurorights and brain-computer interfaces, and the challenge of safeguarding privacy and autonomy as the metaverse becomes increasingly AI-orchestrated.
Day 2, December 11, turned to Medical XR and Immersive Healthcare with “Immersive Healthcare & AI: Finding the Balance Between Innovation and Shared Responsibility,” co-hosted with NHS England. Discussions covered AI-powered diagnostics and VR therapeutics, weighed against the need for patient safety, data confidentiality, and ethical oversight.
Day 3, December 12, addressed Child Safety and Children’s Rights under the theme “Safeguarding the Young Generation in the AI-Augmented Worlds,” co-hosted with UNICEF. The session explored the risks immersive environments pose to children’s digital identities and development, and the shared responsibility of technologists, educators, and policymakers to protect them.
Day 4, December 13, focused on Cybersecurity and Data Protection with “Navigating the Cyber Frontier in the AI-Powered Metaverse,” co-hosted with the Global Privacy Assembly. The roundtable examined the rise of AI-based cyberattacks and the data protection mechanisms needed to secure the metaverse against threats that increasingly blur the line between digital and real-world harm.
Day 5, December 14, closed the week with Global Policy and Regulations, themed “An Urgent Need for Global Regulations and Governance for AI and Emerging Technologies,” also co-hosted with the Global Privacy Assembly. The session called for coordinated international governance to keep pace with AI and the metaverse’s borderless nature, balancing innovation with user protection.