July 30, 2022

METAVERSE – THE HUMAN SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology and human evolution trajectories are connected and move along a transformative, complementary, and forward-looking path. Multiple factors drive technological transformation that accommodates exponentially increasing information processing opportunities, enhancing socio-psychological expectations, elevating computational abilities driving possibility and digital engineering developments creating new product design and prototyping. These possibilities are adopted by businesses and translated into a living use case that not only improvises the service provisioning methodology but also enhances business outcomes. This course of technology advancement has two branches, one that is a natural maturing trajectory of technology that intensity’s the potential as the next best version of the current self, and the other which is a mutation of multiple adjacent technologies converging to form a novel offering.

This convergence of points and inclusions is an opportunity to combine the capabilities with the vital attributes of emerging technologies to build new enhanced phenomena generating new market and business opportunities. Eventually, all the futuristic technologies will have a social and business application with diminishing differentiation. There are numerous examples where the social community adopts business applications, and few business tools are part of our personal work ecosystem. Metaverse is one such exciting derivative of combinations, as mentioned earlier, building momentum and reshaping how we work and who we are. The technology extension like web 3.0 that will change the way we look at the physical and virtual world for ever.

This metaverse is the best example of a controlled environment with defined rules enforced in the virtual world to a human person. This sounds interesting, but technology users and providers must address a few core tenets at the founding architecture level to ensure operational and information integrity.

DANCING WITH THE STRANGER

One caution that always treks with futuristic technologies is the unanticipated impact of the operating practices and perpetual outcomes affecting the human side. Using a gaming analogy, understanding the relationship between the User (the superhero) and the Technology (superpowers) in the right perspective and context is imperative. These superpowers usually impede in many startling ways unless well-rehearsed and used only when needed and concealed when unnecessary. This analogy shows a real working relationship between the WE (the users) and the technology. At the same time, technology developments define the business and experience characteristics it has and will also subconsciously touch on the psyche and ability of human idiosyncrasies. We overlook the expanse and expense of evolving capabilities and the associated corollary that highlights the reservations arising due to technical mismatch and incongruency impacting all work design constituents (People, Process, Platform, Partnership, and Product). It is crucial to list down the entire perimeter and influencing factors that will coerce change adopting adjacent technologies that increase complexity, cost, and reflect traits of the organization that are undesired or irreversible.

The concept of negative transformation is almost closer to the idea of negative innovation. Not everything which was invented was for the wellbeing of humankind. For example, nuclear fusion was an unprecedented innovation of physics, but it led to adverse impact with bombs and radioactive leaks from power plants. Yet another application of the same technology is the nuclear power which generates around 14% of the world’s energy. So, considering the consequences of new technologies has to be well rehearsed before we start dancing with what some will think is the devil.

Actualize the importance of Governance Structure

Metaverse is one such a leap of humankind which has immense potential and great application in various industries however it is going to infuse transformation in our ergonomic, physical, emotional, and psychological attributes at a deep and drastic level. When onboarding a technology, the core behaviour and characteristics of that technology are to be understood and reviewed to institutionalize the core offerings within an organization. The applicability, the usage, market readiness and the relevance are important attributes to scale the technology adoption. The effort starts at the fundamental level to establish the reference architectural design.

A structure must be established with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) components as the integral constituents of the technology and its adverse impact on the business sources and the market. An in-depth reconnaissance about the capabilities and fitment will help the business understand the sustainability factor. Then comes the methods architecture, resource availability and readiness, horizontal and vertical integration with value streams and Investment ratio will drive the business case rationalization process to adopt the technology.

When the technology discussion arises, we cannot isolate the services aspect and the product (consumer) side, which will be the defining segmentation to support and to deliver expectations to the end users. Service represents practice institutionalization and maintenance of a technology, where product is a customizable bundle of components that delivers experience within the permissible boundaries.

The Enterprise Governance and Enterprise Architecture are two tectonic plates of the services and product industry. Sustainability and agility are the core objectives of enterprise governance whereas risk and resiliency concentrating on building a robust technical foundation are part of enterprise architecture. Workware, workflow, workplace and workforce are the drivers and value generators to run the operational layer and the key medium of transferring and translating tangible value. It is imperative to build a governance structure to ensure ethical, unbiased and educated consequential outcome. Technology revolution is a continuous phenomenon, and we are the subjects and objects to utilize and experience the outcomes. Organizational change management plays a crucial role in building the mindset to consume the technology outcomes in a favourable way. Perils and prospects of technology are always evident to affect our lifestyle. The social impact, community impact, and human influence is always critical. We should anticipate and handle growing challenges like extended screen time and hardware side effects on us, personality issues where one is comfortable in the virtual world promoting certain type of introvert characteristics, Social seclusive traits, and the medical solution to following withdrawal symptoms. These human dangers will continue into the next version of the Internet (Web 3) and could even be magnified in metaverses.