Governments around the globe are supporting the development of the Metaverse to properly integrate to the incoming virtual world. South Korea’s 177-million-dollar investment and the incoming 100-million-dollar Research and Development Center to be hosted in Australia are only the beginning of government involvement in this field (Keane, 2022) (Australian Trade and Investment Commission, 2022). The uses of the Metaverse are diverse and government entities are becoming aware of this. The integration of government services, internal communication and even military simulation are projected to make their way into the metaverse to best serve their citizens and employees. Whether it be direct investments into the Metaverse or supporting the development of specific technological elements, governments will have to understand and participate in this emerging technology to be on the leading edge of engagement.
The Metaverse and government. What will their collaboration look like and what are the benefits?
Missed our previous article on what the metaverse entails and its projection, read our metaverse overview here.
The Metaverse has been envisioned to be a part of all aspects of our daily lives including social, financial and educational settings. As the commercial success of the Metaverse sets in, government use and implementation will be forced to follow. Various governments around the globe are already investing in elements of the Metaverse, but the question is how will they place themselves and their services in the Metaverse? As a citizen, how can you expect to be supported in upcoming technological developments? These are important questions as more Governments dip their toes into the Metaverse and its use supporting citizens, businesses and employees.
The Influence of Technology on Government
Technology has had a great impact on how governments do its business and deliver services to its citizens. Not long ago, you would have to physically go to a specific government office to either receive or fill out paperwork to get a service. Now with the internet, phones, emails and mobile applications, citizens can access these government services whenever or wherever best suits them.
Governments are already looking to support the use of emerging and disruptive technology to help best support their citizens and employees. The government is currently using emerging technology such as simulation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Virtual Reality (VR), which are some components of the Metaverse.
The Government and The Metaverse
The Metaverse is a virtual environment that will emulate and exist parallel to the real world with the purpose of connecting people across the globe. Governments are aware that the development of the metaverse will impact international trade, communication and their own service delivery methods. The government will be able to use the Metaverse in several ways, ranging from customer service to staff training.
1. Government Collaboration – The use of the Metaverse can help governments and organisations do business better. For example, NASA has created a shared virtual workspace, which allows their engineers to collaborate on designing satellites and robotics (Copeland and Michl, 2022).
2. Testing and Evaluation – The Metaverse can be used to help with testing and evaluation activities by the government. In the United States, the Air Force is using Digital Twins to help rebuild the Tyndall Airforce Base in Florida. Using a digital twin of the Air Force base, they can do simulations in order to identify where and how to design flight lines for their new F-35 Lighning II strike Fighters (Copeland and Michl, 2022)
3. Military Training – The Metaverse can also be used for military training in the future. An example of this can be seen through the development of Land Simulation Core (LS Core) 2.0, a “computer simulation training software and systems" made for the Australian Army (Meikai, 2022). Military simulations like LS Core 2.0 dive into “virtual and constructive simulation, C4I integration and federation management software”, which are essential to the building of a functional and immersive Metaverse (Meikai, 2022).
Meikai envisions that the government will make use of the public Metaverse to offer support and services, while using a private Metaverse to house internal communication, unique digital staff identities and training simulations. Both public and private versions of the Metaverse are equally valid to enhance government efficiency and effectiveness in supporting the citizens that they serve. The Metaverse likely to become the most used channel to reach services and reason to support the government transition to Web 3.0. It will allow citizens to have unmatched transparency, confidence and support for government applications and processes.
Opportunity
Governments around the world are paying close attention and beginning to participate into the direct development of the Metaverse. Australia is going to host a 100-million-dollar Metaverse Research and Development Center, making it one of the largest in the world once built (Australian Trade and Investment Commission, 2022). The South Korean government is directly investing around 177 million dollars into the development of a Metaverse platform “to allow citizens to access public services virtually” (Keane, 2022).
These steps towards supporting the building of the metaverse are clear indicators of the potential it has in government use and public use. Sweden, Estonia, Serbia and Kazakhstan are a few countries with established virtual embassies throughout the pandemic and have seen great success in their incorporation (Gayatri, n.d). These embassies act as a glimpse as to what citizens can expect in their future but can be imagined on a larger scale and with more services. Nations are publicly leaning into the building of the Metaverse.
Emerging and disruptive technology such as the Metaverse will become incorporated into the delivery of government services. Public and Private Metaverses built on blockchain technology will help ensure that future. However, there is much to learn to ensure the solutions are safe, secure and scalable. Learn more about how blockchain works and its future use cases in our continuing blog series or enrol in our Blockchain Fundamentals and Futures course.
Meikai Group
Meikai is a Professional Services Consultancy dedicated to facilitating and solving capability problems and challenges for our clients. Meikai specialises in the provision of engineering, project management and program delivery services to support the implementation of emerging and disruptive technology within the ICT, simulation, and training domains.
Meikai holds a R&D/Futures branch, that looks to explore emerging technology. This ensures we foster cutting edge thinking, skills and competence in our workforce, to continue to providing value and quality to our clients. Meikai knows that research into Blockchain, Web 3.0 and NFTs is essential to building an innovative future.
Authors
Adam Rawlings – Director of Meikai
Adam is a Systems Engineer who is dedicated to supporting forward thinking government officials deliver complex technology change. He has spent the last decade supporting Defence to implement transformational change in the way it uses simulation as a disruptive technology. His qualifications and experience in engineering, education, capability development, leadership and stakeholder management provide him the tools in his belt to progress seemingly impossible programs.
Milica Gallardo Petkovich – Resident Data Scientist
Milica is Meikai’s resident data scientist who is dedicated to researching emerging technologies to provide market insight. She is currently pursuing her Master's in Data Science from the University of Canberra. Having received her Bachelor’s in Financial and Global Economics from Rutgers University, Milica’s international education brings in a global perspective to Meikai.
References
Australian Defence Magazine (2021). Government to invest $10m in defence AI tech - Australian Defence Magazine. [online] www.australiandefence.com.au. Available at: https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/simulation/government-to-invest-10m-in-defence-ai-tech [Accessed 30 Nov. 2022].
Australian Trade and Investment Commission (2022). Australia to Host US$100m Metaverse R&D Center. [online] www.austrade.gov.au. Available at: https://www.austrade.gov.au/news/latest-from-austrade/australia-to-host-us-100m-metaverse-r-d-center.
Copeland, C and Michl, K. (2022). Government Enters the Metaverse. [online] Accenture. Available at: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insightsnew/us-federal-government/technology-vision-2022 [Accessed 1 Dec. 2022].
Fawkes, A. (2020). Has the Military Been Building the Metaverse? | 2020-11-17 | Halldale Group. [online] www.halldale.com. Available at: https://www.halldale.com/articles/17827-has-the-military-been-building-the-metaverse [Accessed 30 Nov. 2022].
Fawkes, A. (2022). How Relevant is the Metaverse to Military Simulation & Training? | Halldale Group. [online] www.halldale.com. Available at: https://www.halldale.com/articles/20491-how-relevant-is-the-metaverse-to-military-simulation-and-training [Accessed 30 Nov. 2022].
Gayatri, P. (n.d.). Metaverse – The Start of a New Era of Government Services | National Informatics Centre. [online] www.nic.in. Available at: https://www.nic.in/blogs/the-metaverse-the-start-of-a-new-era-of-government-services/.
Keane, J. (2022). South Korea is betting on the metaverse — and it could provide a blueprint for others. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/30/south-koreas-investment-in-the-metaverse-could-provide-a-blueprint.html#:~:text=Future%20Tech%20Asia- [Accessed 30 Nov. 2022].
Meikai (2022). Land Simulation (LS) Core 2.0. [online] Meikai Group. Available at: https://www.meikaigroup.com/projects/land-simulation-(ls)-core-2.0 [Accessed 30 Nov. 2022].
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