The Yuan requests your support! Our content will now be available free of charge for all registered subscribers, consistent with our mission to make AI a human commons accessible to all. We are therefore requesting donations from our readers so we may continue bringing you insightful reportage of this awesome technology that is sweeping the world. Donate now
How trustworthy is the metaverse?
By Nigel Morris-Cotterill  |  Apr 28, 2023
How trustworthy is the metaverse?
Image courtesy of and under license from Shutterstock.com
This is the second in a series of articles titled Life and Crime in the Metaverse. Contrary to popular belief, creating a metaverse takes just a few minutes, costs just a few dollars, and can be done almost without technical skills, so criminals are bound to take advantage.

Location: No one knows, and very few can find out.

Part one of this series, the Introduction, examined why so many people tend to believe what they see on a computer screen. Things are much more complicated than were implied even in that article, and this subject will be revisited later.

This installment will look at how trustworthy the metaverse is. First of all, one should be clear that there is no single metaverse. The number of metaverses is determined only by the willingness of people to create them. Why? Because no matter how it is dressed up, the metaverse is nothing more than a website. This may seem difficult to believe, but it is the truth.

One can create one’s own metaverse for the price of some hosting - maybe USD20 per year, and often less - and a domain name, which costs roughly USD15 per year, sometimes less.

Of course, a website is no use at all if someone visits it and gets redirected to a ‘coming soon’ page installed by the hosting company. This means that one needs content for one’s website. This can be a bit more expensive, especially for those without the necessary technical expertise. Still, just as some companies provide a build-your-own-website toolkit, others offer a build-your-own-metaverse toolkit. Some of these are new, while others are spinoffs from online game companies. This is perfectly

The content herein is subject to copyright by The Yuan. All rights reserved. The content of the services is owned or licensed to The Yuan. Such content from The Yuan may be shared and reprinted but must clearly identify The Yuan as its original source. Content from a third-party copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in such third party’s content appearing in The Yuan must likewise be clearly labeled as such.
Continue reading
Sign up now to read this story for free.
- or -
Continue with Linkedin Continue with Google
Comments
Share your thoughts.
The Yuan wants to hear your voice. We welcome your on-topic commentary, critique, and expertise. All comments are moderated for civility.