The new scenarios of work in the Metaverse

Article by Francesco Berlucchi

We are living through a crucial phase in digital history. It is a moment of transition in which the relentless development of technology offers unexplored paths. In this context, the metaverse is the next step in the evolution of the Internet. To understand what is happening and what will happen, Humane Technology Lab has organized a series of meetings to tackle the topic and has chosen to do so through direct discussion among those on the front lines of driving change. "If today the web is two-dimensional and we look at it from the outside, in the metaverse, the web becomes a three-dimensional experience in which we can enter and be present," Giuseppe Riva, HTLab Director, explains. "If today the web is separated from the real world, that is, we experience it inside a browser, in the metaverse, the web merges with the real world. What we do in the physical world affects the experience in the virtual world and vice versa."

Called upon to introduce the meeting, Daniele Manca, deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, stimulates the students. "In a recent article in The Atlantic, which I recommend you read, Megan Garber argues that we already live in the metaverse," Manca says. "In the last 20 years, to some extent, technology, particularly the Internet, has deconstructed pre-existing communities by constantly creating new ones. Precisely for this reason, we thought it was important for our newspaper to collaborate on a series of events that would make a clear understanding of a clear fact: today, we think we control technology and are at the dawn of a new era, but we are already in it." The assist is immediately picked up by Professor Riva, who responds with an app found on most smartphones worldwide. "Think of Instagram," Riva says. "Its great success is also linked to the fact that, on Instagram, it is possible to be different from oneself. I am referring, for example, to filters: each of us feels imperfect, and the possibility of having a digital double where imperfection disappears is a powerful temptation. One of the goals of the metaverse is to get to the complete fusion of the physical and digital worlds. Before long, it will be possible for each of us to have a digital twin. The risk is to give the latter the task of realizing what we have not been or are not in our physical lives. There will be much work for psychologists (smiles, ed.)."

The heart of the first initiative is the relationship between the metaverse and the world of work. What skills are in demand today and the positions for working in the metaverse? "An infinite number," Christian Colonna, Metaverse eXtended Reality Design Lead at Accenture, believes. "If we were to think about all the professions that the metaverse has created or reinvented, there are so many. In the metaverse, you are no longer a user but a participant. You enter the three-dimensional world. So all those professions from the world of film and theater are important, as well as those related to place-making and interior designers who design architecture for the metaverse. And then, undoubtedly, the whole part that pertains to the world of psychology. To enter a three-dimensional world is to experience it, inhabit it, and deal with all the social dynamics for which the skills of a psychologist are essential. But not only that: 3D modeling, digital content creation, platform development."

So it is important to have cross-cutting skills, to be able to read the context, and to be able to connect with the skills of others. "A key issue is to bring companies closer to these new technologies," replies Ivan Montis, secretary general of the Web3 Alliance, a consortium that brings together the leading companies working with Web3 (metaverse, virtual reality, artificial intelligence). "The gaps in some infrastructural aspects are still evident. For example, connections are not as fast as they should be. However, Italian companies are creative and resilient, and at a pioneering stage, when you have to lay the groundwork, these two characteristics are crucial. We will perhaps have to apply what has been done in the world of fashion and food made in Italy: give it a recognized worldwide denotation. Certainly, the professions related to process dynamics and verification will disappear. However, the more human aspects will be exalted: creative and interpersonal skills. Think of the medical field: we will not be able to do without the nurse, but we will be able to have direct instructions from an emergency room on how to use a defibrillator quickly to save a person's life."

"The first way to get the metaverse into a company is to find its utility," Colonna says. "We are noticing that companies, as a first step, are trying to apply the metaverse internally, for processes such as employer branding, onboarding, recruiting or training. An interesting example is H&M, which signed a capsule collection entirely designed in the metaverse. Up to the production of the garments, everything was done digitally using metahuman models, with interesting implications also in terms of sustainability. In Accenture, on the other hand, before the pandemic, we bought 60 thousand headsets, and distributed them to all new hires to do an onboarding conducted on an immersive platform. It was a very effective experiment, both to learn the company's values and to establish the first human relationships."

"After reading that Meta and Apple were laying off thousands of employees, I immediately checked their sites to see what professional skills they were looking for," Montis says. "Out of about 480 positions opened by Facebook, at least a third are augmented reality technicians and engineers. Apple is looking for 175. You need infrastructure-related skills, with the ability to talk, act as bridges between different worlds. In today's world, most of a company's employees and contractors are not in the same place. This is a dynamic that will be further encouraged, thanks to the metaverse: there will be more collaboration, and thus improve work. Of course, life will not be easy for bosses, because soft skills and modern managerial skills are needed."

To better understand not only what lies ahead, but also the reality we are already living, we need, in short, to avoid vertical divisions between disciplines and integrate different visions. "We need to use a multidisciplinary approach," Riva explains. "And certainly this is one of the strengths of our university, thanks to the collaboration of linguists, sociologists, jurists, economists, and psychologists. Only in this way is it possible to analyze the relationship between technology and our daily experience." The next appointment of "I Martedì del Metaverso," on April 4, again at the Milan campus of the Cattolica, will explore "The Perspectives of Education in the Metaverse." This time with Nicola Ravarini, founder & ceo of VRZONE and Andrea Gaggioli, professor of Psychology at Cattolica. The perspectives of immersive education will be investigated, starting from the analysis of teachers' and students' needs and expectations.