Reports said that the Pacific nation of Tuvalu is planning to create a version of itself in the metaverse, as a response to the existential threat of rising sea levels.
Simon Kofe, the Minister for Justice, Communication, and Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu, made the announcement via a chilling digital address to leaders at COP27. He said the plan, which accounts for the "worst case scenario", involves creating a digital twin of Tuvalu in the metaverse in order to replicate its beautiful islands and preserve its rich culture.
He added:
“The tragedy of this outcome cannot be overstated […] Tuvalu could be the first country in the world to exist solely in cyberspace – but if global warming continues unchecked, it won't be the last.”
It has been reported that the idea is that the metaverse might allow Tuvalu to "fully function as a sovereign state" as its people are forced to live somewhere else. There are two stories here. One is a small island nation in the Pacific facing an existential threat and looking to preserve its nationhood through technology.
However, the other is that by far the preferred future for Tuvalu would be to avoid the worst effects of climate change and preserve itself as a terrestrial nation. In this case, this may be its way of getting the world's attention.
The metaverse represents a burgeoning future in which augmented and virtual reality become part of everyday living. There are many visions of what the metaverse might look like, with the most well-known coming from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Thus, the aim is to obscure the human ability to distinguish between the real and the virtual, for better or for worse.
Source: Science Alert
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