Dubai Metaverse Assembly hears of a brave new virtual world that needs regulating

Glimpses of the future technology were showcased but experts say preparation and governance are important

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  Presentations regarding different facets of Metaverse at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly at Museum of the Future. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National

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  Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, speaks about The Building Blocks for WEB 3.0 and the Metaverse.

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  From left, Alex Gubbay, Head of Digital at 'The National', moderator Amin Al Zarouni, of Bedu, Abdelrahman Mohamed, of MetaCon Global, Abdulla Mohamed Al Dhaheri, of Chaintech Lab, and Haya Al Gussain, of Evolve Network Club take part in the UAE Metaverse Contributors' panel discussion.

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  From left, Jane Witherspoon of Euronews moderates a panel discussion on 'Which sectors is the Metaverse already impacting' with Yusuf Bahadir, of GoArt, Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of GOQii, David Clark-Joseph, of Pixelynx and Bradford Bird, of The Fabricant.

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  Tom Urquhart from Arabian Radio Network speaks about gaming with Ahmed Tehemar, of Gamefi.

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  From left, Mustafa Alrawi of 'The National' speaks to Adel Al Redha, CEO of Emirates about 'Opportunities in Aviation'.

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  A visitor tests a virtual reality headset at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly at Museum of Future.

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  From left, moderator Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief at 'The National', HSBC's Catherine Zhou, Alexander Chehade from Binance, Keith Jordan from Mastercard, DIFC Authority's Christian Kunz and Vinit Shah from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority discuss the role of governments in virtual worlds.

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  Ziad Traboulsi from Meta addresses the assembly.

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  Gabriel Abed, ambassador of Barbados to the UAE, speaks about the future of nations in the Metaverse.

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  Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, attends the event at Museum of the Future.

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  From left, Euronews moderator Laura Buckwell, Cathy Li of the World Economic Forum, Digital Dubai's Marwan Al Zarouni, Meta's James Hairston and Balsam Danhach of FTX discuss 'Maximizing the Potential of Ecosystems on the Metaverse'.

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  Brandy Scott of the Arabian Radio Network, left, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World discuss 'How the Metaverse will Enable People and Operations'.

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  Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System, speaks about 'Unlocking Dubai's Potential'.

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  Asma Shabab of Accenture leads the 'Building the Responsible Metaverse' discussion with virtual speaker Anne Groeppelin, also from Accenture.

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  Ms Li, left, and Mr Hairston, right, listen as Mr Al Zarouni makes a point.

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  Mr Al Olama, who is also Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and Vice Chairman of the Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy in Dubai.

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  Moderator Ms Buckwell leads the panel discussion on 'Maximizing the Potential of Ecosystems on the Metaverse'.

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  From left, The National's Sarah Forster moderates a discussion with Samuel Hamilton of the Decentraland Foundation, Majid Al Futtaim's Joe Abi Akl, Damac Properties' Ali Sajwani and Guy Parsonage from PwC on 'Opportunities in Virtual Real Estate'.

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  Ihab Foudeh from Microsoft speaks on the topic of 'Unravelling the Metaverse and its Future'.

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  Khalifa Al Jaziri Al Shehhi gives a presentation on 'Metaverse and the Economy'.

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  Some of the audience at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

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  From left, Mr Abi Akl, Mr Sajwani and Mr Parsonage continue their discussion.

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  The audience takes in the discussion.

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  Front-row seats for the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

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  Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq, second from left, joins a discussion on 'Metaverse and the Economy' moderated by Karl Tlais, left, founder and strategic advisor of iAdvisory, Accenture managing director Bashar Kilani, second from right, and BCG Digital Ventures managing director and partner Mark Zaleski.

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  Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation gives the opening address.

The hype and excitement that surrounds the potential of the metaverse was felt within the corridors of Dubai's Museum of the Future on Wednesday and Thursday.

But there was also a strong message from the 500 or so experts attending the inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly on the brave new world of Web 3.0 — and that was the need for regulation and preparation for what is to come.

There were fascinating glimpses of the future, such as the UAE Ministry of Economy's metaverse headquarters where people can hold meetings and even sign legal documents.

Elsewhere at a government level, Gabriel Abed, ambassador of Barbados to the UAE, said his country is aiming to set up an embassy in the metaverse.

The virtual facility will ensure diplomatic parity, future-proofing national services, international coverage, immersive experiences, resource efficiency and a broader reach, he said.

These high-level services will require responsible actions by users and stringent regulation from those hosting them in the metaverse.

“The speed of the change of the market is astounding, but the vision is being set from the top down,” said Keith Jordan, vice president of innovation at Mastercard.

“Regulators and policymakers can either follow the market or lead the market. One country is saying 5 per cent of GDP [gross domestic product] will be driven by the metaverse by 2030 … we need to think what needs to be regulated. We have to look 5-10 years out and start building the policy for that.”

Dubai is setting “the global standard for regulation” with the emirate having this year launched the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority as the central authority for the global virtual asset industry, Mr Jordan said.

“Innovation has to occur in a safe, regulated way. The next rate of change is going to be so fast.”

Another important point of discussion was how society will adapt to being both inside the metaverse and retaining the physical aspects of doing business.

Emirates airline's chief operating officer, Adel Al Redha, said the Dubai carrier will ensure it retains its “human touch” while also advancing its technological offering in the metaverse for customers.

“We need to maintain that human touch with our customers but at the same time you are looking for efficiency,” he said.

“I am there when you need me — not to stop the process or slow it down. Intervention from the human is as and when required. The metaverse provides us the chance to do that.”

Dubai is seeking to boost various sectors through the metaverse, including tourism. It plans to hold metaverse events and set up a task force to scale up its tourism potential and global outreach.

Education was another sector regularly referenced during the assembly.

Amin Al Zarouni, chief executive of Dubai-based metaverse start-up Bedu, gave an example of how the metaverse could and should benefit the youth.

He said he doesn't want his children to go through the same physics classes that he had.

“In the metaverse, you can target a much younger age with the way it is taught,” he said.

It could be that schoolchildren are assisted by devices such as a haptic glove, which is set to be introduced by Meta.

This will allow for experiences in the metaverse to be physically felt, such as playing the guitar or moving chess pieces.

Other future technologies shown off by the Facebook parent include a new VR headset due to be released this year, a language tool which will allow people to converse in the metaverse with instant translation and an AI algorithm that allows people to generate and import things using voice commands.