Q & A: Occupation and Metaverse
18 May 2022
14:15 - 14:30
Although there is no single view of what metaverse is, a common slogan that is heard in technical conversations about it is that “metaverse is for everyone.” This refers to the idea that, like the Internet, no single company will control metaverse, and users will have access to different digital worlds. Such claims ignore the specific ways in which technologies become intertwined and constrained by local geopolitics and digital divides, or are unevenly recruited to serve political agendas. In Palestine, due to the entrenchment of the digital occupation and Israeli control over the ICT infrastructure, metaverse also introduces new forms of virtual exclusion and digital erasure of Palestinians.