迈向未来互联网：治理范式的重塑与协同-

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality:AdvancingGovernanceintheFutureInternet

WHITEPAPER

NOVEMBER2024

Images:MidJourney,Unsplash

Contents

Foreword3

Executivesummary4

Introduction5

1

Currentstateofinternetgovernance8

1.1Thefoundationalmultistakeholdermodel9

1.2Thestabilityoftechnicalstandards11

1.3Governancefragmentation12

1.4Theimpactofgovernance13

2

Sharedcommitmentsforguidinggovernanceinblendedreality14

2.1Humanrights16

2.2Accountability17

2.3Collaborativesafety18

2.4Ownershipofphysicalanddigitalassets19

2.5Responsibledatapractices20

2.6Educationandresearch21

2.7Accessibility22

2.8Social,economicandenvironmentalsustainability23

Calltoaction24

Contributors25

Endnotes31

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SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality2

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality3

November2024

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality:AdvancingGovernanceintheFutureInternet

Foreword

DanielDobrygowski

Head,GovernanceandTrust,WorldEconomicForum

Thecurrentinternetlandscapefaceschallenges

suchasmistrust,1fracturedgovernance2,3andoftenreactivepolicies4thatmaynotbeinteroperable

acrossjurisdictions.5Societyisatacrucial

inflectionpointwheretheconvergenceofemergingtechnologies,newindustryplayersandevolving

publicexpectationscreatesauniqueopportunity

totacklethesechallenges.Themetaverseoffers

aglimpseofwhatthefutureinternetmightlook

like–animmersiveintegrationofdigitaland

physicalrealities,propelledbyadvancementsin

extendedreality(XR)technologyandintegration

withtechnologieslikeartificialintelligence(AI)and

distributedledgertechnology(DLT).Thisincludes

blockchain,6G,internetofthings(IoT),quantum

technologies,robotics,digitaltwinsandmore.6Thistransformationisnotjustatechnologicalleapbutanopportunitytoexplorehowgovernancecandevelopsecurelyandsafelyindigitalspacesandaffectthenormsofphysicalreality.

InMay2022,theWorldEconomicForumlaunchedtheDefiningandBuildingtheMetaverseInitiative,

anintegratedapproachtothedevelopmentand

governanceofthemetaverse.Itsaimistobuilda

safer,moreresponsible,secure,equitable,inclusive,diverse,resilientandaccessiblemetaversethroughdiscussionswithawidearrayofstakeholders–

includingthosefromgovernment,industry,civilsocietyandacademia.Thispaperbuildsontheinitiative’swork.IncollaborationwithAccenture,previousoutputsinclude:

–

InteroperabilityintheMetaverse

–

PrivacyandSafetyintheMetaverse

EmmanuelViale

ManagingDirector,

Innovation,Accenture

–

MetaverseIdentity:DefiningtheSelfina

BlendedReality

–

DemystifyingtheConsumerMetaverse

–

SocialImplicationsintheMetaverse

–

ExploringtheIndustrialMetaverse:ARoadmap

totheFuture

–

MetaverseCybersecurity:BuildingResiliencein

theFutureInternet

Thiswhitepaperoperatesonthepremisethat

themetaverserepresentsacriticalopportunity

toredefinethenormsoftoday’sinternetand,

specifically,internetgovernance.Astechnologiesadvance,thesenewinnovationsandtheir

governance–acrossbusinessunits,geographiesandjurisdictions–presentanopportunityto

redefinenormsandcreateasafe,inclusive,accessible,resilientandequitablemetaverse.

Thisfuturestate,however,canonlybeachievedifstakeholdersfromindustry,government,academiaandcivilsocietyalignonahuman-firstapproach,ensuringthatthemetaverseanditssupporting

technologiesaresociallyandeconomicallybeneficialforeveryone.

Achievingthisvisionrequirestechnology-agnostic,durablecommitmentstoimplementingimpactfulfuturegovernance.Thisdocumentoutlinesthosecommitmentsandcallsforglobalmultistakeholdercollaborationtodeliverthem.

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality4

Executivesummary

Blendedrealitydemandsgovernance

throughcommoncommitmentstobridgethegapbetweentechnologicalinnovationandsocietalexpectations.

Theconvergenceandadoptionofkeyemergingtechnologies–likeextendedreality(XR)paired

withartificialintelligence(AI),6G,internetofthings(IoT),blockchain,robotics,digitaltwins,etc.–ispropellingtheinternetintoanew“blendedreality”oftenreferredtoas“themetaverse”orthe“futureoftheinternet”.

Sometechnologistsbelievethatthemetaverseis

theexperiencelayer7,8,9–orinterfacelayer–ofthefutureinternet,whichwillbeunderpinnedbyscalingtechnologieslikeXRhardware,AIanddistributed

ledgertechnology(DLT)(includingblockchainandotherapplications).Thisblendedrealityrequires

acohesivegovernanceapproachthatconsiders

theexpandinginterplaybetweendigitalnetworks,hardware,software,dataandthenormsand

expectationsofphysicalreality.Thisreportoutlinesavisionforhowgovernancemustevolvetomeettheuniquechallengesposedbythisnewblendedrealityparadigm.

Today’sinternetgovernancecanbefragmented

acrossjurisdictions,leadingtoconflictingstandards,

gapsinregulationandbarrierstoequitableaccess.Thefutureinternet,withitsdeepintegrationof

digitalandphysicalrealities,amplifiesthese

challenges.Governancemust,therefore,become

morecohesive,adaptableandinclusivetosupportthesafe,sustainableandsociallyresponsible

developmentofblendedrealitytechnologies.Key

recommendationsfocusonestablishingshared

commitmentsacrossindustries,governments,

academiaandcivilsociety.Thesecommitments

prioritizehumanrights,accountability,safety,assetownershipandresponsibledatapractices,allaimedatcreatingtrustandsecurityinthemetaverse.Byadoptingthesecommitments,stakeholderscan

shapeafutureinternetthatbalancesinnovationwithresponsibility.

Thenextstepsinvolvealigningglobalstandards

andpolicieswiththesecommitmentsandcreatingmultistakeholderforumstodrivecollaboration.

Theseactionswillensurethatthefutureinternetservesasaforceforsocietalandeconomic

benefitwhileprotectingtherightsandwell-beingofallusers.

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality5

Introduction

Asemergingtechnologiesandexpectationsevolve,stakeholdersmustalignonacommonvisiontoaddressgovernancechallenges.

Societyisatapivotalmoment.Theconvergenceofemergingtechnologiesandindividuals’evolvingexpectationspresentsauniqueopportunityto

addressnascentgovernancechallenges.To

alignandexpandonhowgovernanceshouldbeapproached,itisnecessaryforallstakeholders

toestablishacommonvisiontodrivedistinctandtailoredaction.

Thispaperfocusesonsettingavisionfor

advancingfutureinternetgovernance.Given

theblendingofrealitiesandtechnology

convergence,itdefinescommoncommitmentsandgoalsthatshouldbesharedbyall

stakeholderstoenablecohesivegovernance.

1

FIGURE

Blendedreality:Governingthefutureoftheinternet

Thescopeofthefutureinternet

Physical/digitalblended

experiencessupportedbyXRandconvergingtechnologies(facilitatedbytheexpansionoftheinternetandsupportingtechnologystack)

PhysicalrealityBlendedreality

Supportedby:

—Infrastructure/internetnetwork—Hardware/software

—Applicationinterfaces—Data

+Downloaded“offline”content

·Human-firsttechdesign·

Digitalreality

BOX1Commitmentlanguage

Throughoutthispaper,theterm“commitments”referstoasetofconceptsofferedtoguidestakeholdersindevelopinggoodgovernancepracticesratherthanspecificobligationsadoptedbystakeholders.

andlocalmethodsformeetinggoalsthroughlaw,policies,standards,toolingandbestpractices.

Withtheseprinciplesinmind,stakeholdersacrossacademia,government,industryandcivilsocietycandeterminepreferredglobal,regional,national

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality6

2

FIGURE

Thevisionforadvancingthefutureoftheinternet

Thevisionforadvancingfutureinternetgovernance

Thefollowingcommitmentsandgoalsarenecessarytofurtherdeveloprequirements,standards,toolingandbestpractices

Eightguidingcommitments

12345678

HumanrightsAccountabilityCollaborativeOwnershipofResponsibleEducationandAccessibilitySocial,

safteyphysicalanddatapracticesresearcheconomicand

digitalassetsenvironmental

sustainability

Environmentalsustainability

Education

Inclusionanddiversity

Empowerment

throughownership

definition

Human-firstdesign

Clarityofrolesandresponsibilities

Respectinghumanrights

Responsibledata

processingand

management

Preservationofchoice

Recourseand

redress

Empowerment

throughtraceability

andcontrol

Comparativesafteyburden

Researchandopenknowledge

Toolingandinfrastructure

investments

Social

sustainability

Consentin

context

Identificationmanagment

Privacyandsecurity

Responsibleinnovation

Empowerment

throughlegal

protection

Interoperability

Economicsustainability

Review,update,

transfer,delete

anderase

Stakeholdernextsteps:1

1Createrequirementsandstandardsforachievinggoals2Developtoolingandbestpracticestoenableachievementofrequirementsandstandards

Note:1.Outsideofthescopeofthispaper/tobedescribedinthefuturebyindividualstakeholders.

ofpersonasandpurposes.Thisimpressive

transformationsignalsthebeginningofthenext

eraofinternet’sevolution,onethatholdsimmensepotentialfortoday’sgenerations.AsnotedintheEdisonAlliance2024ImpactReport,considerableprogresshasbeenmadeinexpandingdigital

access,11,12yetsignificantopportunitiesforimprovementremain.

Tounderstandthevisionforthefuture,itisnecessarytounderstandthesuccessesandshortcomingsofthecurrentinternetgovernancelandscapeandhowtechnologyconvergenceisdeliveringablended

reality.Foundationalgovernancesuccesseshaveenabledtheinternet’sexpansion,butcriticalareasstillrequireattention.Commitmentscanaddressthesecriticalareasanddeliversocialand

technicalvalue.

Thedawnofanewera–blendedreality

Thecurrentinternetlandscape

Technologywritlargeisundergoingaprofoundtransformation.13Theinternetisenteringwhat

manyconsideranexperientialandspatialnextiteration.14,15Thisneweraischaracterizedby

thearrivalofa“blendedreality”–aconvergenceofphysicalanddigitalworlds,drivenby

rapidadvancementsinextendedreality(XR),

artificialintelligence(AI),InternetofThings(IoT),blockchain,robotics,digitaltwinsandemergingtechnologieslikequantumcomputing.This

evolutionpromisesimmersiveexperiences,hyper-scaleconnectivityandunprecedentedcomputationalpower.

Theinternettodaystandsasavastglobalnetworksupportedbyasophisticatedandcomplex

technologicalinfrastructurethattranscends

geographicalboundaries.Itconnects5.35billionindividualsglobally10asatoolforcommunication,workandcommerce,aswellaspolitical,culturalandsocialengagement.

Originallycreatedasaknowledge-sharingnetworkforacademicandresearchinstitutions,theinternethasevolvedintoavibrantinnovationnetwork

forconnectivitythatnowservesamultitude

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality7

Hardwaredevices–suchassmartphones,

biometricandIoTsensors,andXRheadsets–playapivotalroleinthistransformationbyreshapinghowindividualsinteractwiththeinternetandeachother.Thesetechnologiesareblurringthelinebetween

onlineandofflinelives,creatingnewchallenges

andopportunitiesthatrequireacoordinatedandinformedapproachfromstakeholdersforeffectivenavigationandgovernance.

Thefracturedlandscape

Whilesignificantprogresshasbeenmade,the

currentinternetandtechnologylandscaperemainsfragmented,revealingopportunitiesformore

cohesivegovernance.

Challengessuchasthedigitaldivide,segregatedstakeholderactionsanddemandforresponsiblegrowthunderscoretheneedforgreater

collaborationopportunities.

TABLE1Opportunitiesforgreatercollaboration

Segregatedstakeholderactions

Responsiblegrowth

Digitaldivide

Whenconsideringhowtofacilitate

responsiblegrowth,societyisfacedwith

therealitythattherearehundredsoreven

thousandsofgovernanceauthoritiesand

structuresthatbothsupportandconflictwithoneanother.Eachbodyis,withintheirownmeans,guidingthegrowthandevolutionofthefutureinternet.

Thispaintsthepicturethatinternet

governanceisnotonesystem,one

controlpoint,oroneinstitution.19Instead,responsiblegrowthshouldbeenabled

Thegovernancelandscapeisoftenmarkedbyfragmentation,withamultitudeof

stakeholders,regulatorybodiesandtechnicalstandardsoftenoperatinginisolation.

Whiletherearegroupsthatmakeanefforttocoordinate,18associetymovestowardsamoreimmersiveandpervasiveinternetexperience,theneedforcohesive,forward-thinking

governancehasneverbeenmorepressing.

Toachievethis,existingstakeholders,bodiesandforumsshouldconveneindividuals

fromacademia,industry,civilsocietyandgovernmentandcultivatecoordinated

knowledgesharing.

Today,theinternet’sphysicalreachisonly66%ofpeopleglobally16–reflectingan

ongoingdigitaldivide.Aroundone-thirdoftheworld’spopulation,orabout2.6billionpeople,remainoffline.17

Contentreachcanbeenhancedthrough

improvedinfrastructure,applicationdeliveryandaccessibilityopportunitieslikelanguagelocalizationandaddressingvernacular

disparities.Thesechallengessignalroomforgrowthinthecreationofamoreinclusive

andconnectedlandscape.

throughcollaborationacrossthesebodies.

Buildingonthisunderstanding,thisdocument

proposesasetofcommitmentsthatserve

ascrucialinputsforshapingthegovernance

oftomorrow’sinternet.Thesecommitments,

developedthroughamultistakeholderprocess,arenotgovernancestructuresthemselvesbutratheraguidingvisionthatcaninformthedevelopmentofrobust,adaptableandinclusivegovernance

approaches,frameworksandbestpractices.

Theneedforcommitments

Theconvergenceofpowerfultechnologies,

coupledwiththecurrentfragmentationin

internetgovernance,presentsachallengeand

anopportunity.Thiscriticaljuncturedemandsa

refreshedviewof“whatgoodlookslike”today

andwhatitwilllooklikeinthefutureastechnologycontinuestoevolveinthecontextofimmersive,

spatial,AI-driveninternetexperiences.

Byarticulatingthesecommitments,theaimisto

catalyseaglobalconversationonhowstakeholderscancollectivelyensurethatthefutureinternet

remainsaforceforpositivechange,cultivatesinnovationandpromotesthewell-beingofallusersinanincreasinglyblendedreality.

Thispaperaimstobridgethegapbetweenthetechnicalrealitiesoftoday’sinternetgovernanceandtheaspirationalvisionfora“blendedreality”

future.Byexaminingthecurrentstateofinternet

governance,itlaysthefoundationforunderstandingthechallengesandopportunitiesahead.

1

Currentstateof

internetgovernance

Currentinternetgovernanceisdecentralized

andfragmented,highlightingtheurgentneedforcollaborativeglobalgovernanceframeworks.

Theworldisatacrossroadsinthedesign,

developmentandgovernanceofthefuture

internetandtheblendedrealityitdelivers.Yet,tounderstandwhatisneedednext,itisnecessarytounderstandtoday’sinternetgovernanceefforts.

Today’sinternetgovernanceeffortshaveaimedtoenablescalabilityandsecurity.Thishascausedmanyunsettledrisksandchallenges.20However,

asrecommendationsaremadeforidentifyingandimplementinggovernancecommitmentstoguidethefutureoftheinternet,itisimportanttooutline:

1.Thefoundationalmultistakeholdermodel

2.Thestabilityoftechnicalstandards

3.Governancefragmentation

FIGURE3

Internetgovernancerisksandchallenges

Internetgovernancerisksandchallenges

Collaborativesafetyefforts

Sustainability

马Humanrights

Ownership

Accountability

Collaborativeeducationandresearch

Responsible

datapractices

Accessibility

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality8

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality9

1.1Thefoundationalmultistakeholdermodel

–Experiencemanagementlayer:This

encompassestheadministrativetasksthat

dictatehowethics,principlesanddiverse

stakeholderinputtranslateintohardwareandsoftwarerequirements.

–Stakeholderparticipationlayer:Thisincludesthecontentandinterfacesprovidedoverthe

connectednetworkandtheexperiencedeliverymechanismsthatenableeveryonetoparticipateviaaccessing,communicating,moving,

transactingandcreatingonthenetwork.

–Dataandinfrastructurelayer:Thisincludesthephysicalcomputingandnetworking

operationsthatenableconnectivity.

Thegovernanceoftheinternetisnotasinglefunction.Rather,itisanentirenetworkof

distinctroles,responsibilitiesanddiscrete

tasksexecutedbyseparatestakeholdersandmultistakeholdergroups.

Thesegovernancetasksaresupportedbytechnicalandjurisdictionalguardrails–spanningregulation,publicpolicy,standardsandenforcement–that

applytoinfrastructure(suchasnetworks,hardwareandsoftware)andtheexperiencesdeliveredvia

thisinfrastructure.

ApreviousForumpaper,InteroperabilityintheMetaverse,21describeddistinctlayersofthemetaversethatrequiregovernance:

FIGURE4Layersofinteroperabilityandconsiderations

Source:WorldEconomicForum.(2023).InteroperabilityintheMetaverse.

Experiencemanagementlayer

UJ

Stakeholderparticipationlayer

Movement

Dataandinfrastructurelayer

Networks

Computing

Collaboration

Transactions

Guardrails

Creation

Access

1Namingandaddressing:Asystemfor

Theselayersarebeingaddressedthroughexistingandemergingapproachesledbyentitieslikethe

InternationalTelecommunicationsUnion(ITU),22

theInternetCorporationforAssignedNamesandNumbers(ICANN),23theOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)24andtheMetaverseStandardsForum,25amongothers.

Suchentitieshaveconveneddiversegroups–fromgovernments,theprivatesector,civilsocietyand

thetechnicalcommunity–inanopendialoguetomakeconsensus-baseddecisionsandtakeresponsibilityforfunctionslike:

uniquelyidentifyingandlocatingresourcesorentitieswithinanetworkorenvironment,suchasIPaddressesordomainnamesontheinternet

2Openstandardsdevelopment:The

collaborativeprocessofcreatingand

maintainingtechnicalspecificationsthatarepubliclyavailableandcanbefreelyadopted,implementedandextendedbyanyone

SharedCommitmentsinaBlendedReality10

oftentoimprovetheircapacitytounderstand,implementormanagespecifictechnologies,processesorsystems

Whilethesechampioningbodiesmaybeunifyingvoices,thedegreeofoverlapinsubjectmatter

resultsinpotentiallycontradictorystandardsacrossbodies,creatingfurtherneedforcollaboration

andcoordination.

3

Sharedglobalservicesandoperations:

Infrastructure,resourcesorfunctionsthatarejointlymanagedandappliedonaglobalscale,oftentosupportcommongoalsorprovide

consistentservicesacrossdifferentregionsororganizations

4

Educationandcapacitybuilding:The

processofenhancingtheknowledge,skillsandabilitiesofindividualsororganizations,

FIGURE5Exampleofmultistakeholderbodies:Theinternet’sgovernancearrangementsareanetwork

√

Nameandaddressing

☆

Local,national,regionalandglobalpolicydevelopment

Openstandardsdevelopments

1

6

5

2

Internetecosystem

3

4

Sharedglobal

Users

servicesand

operations

Educationand

capacitybuilding

Source:InternetSociety.(2016).InternetGovernance–WhytheMultistakeholderApproachWorks.

Thisfragmentationofnationalframeworkscanhindertheefficiencyandeffectivenessofglobalinternetgovernanceandtheabilitytoaddresstransnationalissuessuchascybercrime,

digitaltrade,onlineharms,secureandtrustedcross-borderdataflows,andtheprotectionofintellectualproperty.

Toaddressthesechallenges,itisimperative

toestablishacommonsetofgovernance

commitmentsthatallstakeholderscanexecuteviatailoredstrategies,approachesandpoliciesthatarealignedwithjurisdictionalvaluesand

establishcommonobjectivesforcooperation.

Additionally,thedistributedarchitecture,computingactivitiesandinternettrafficaresubjecttostatutorycontexts.26Forexample,nationalgovernments

exertjurisdictionusingso-calleddatalocalizationlaws,27oftenframedintermsofdatasovereignty.

Assuch,regulationsliketheEuropeanUnion’s(EU’s)GeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)28setaprecedentforstrictdataprivacypracticesthatdiffersignificantlyfrompracticesinotherregions,such

astheUSorpartsofAsia,wheredataregulation

maybelessstringentlydefinedandenforced.Thisdivergenceofstatutoryapproachesunderscores

thechallengesofapplyingauniformgovernance

modelacrossdifferinglegalandculturallandscapes.

Thestabilityoftechnicalstandards

1.2

Thesuccess

ofthese

multistakeholder

effortsinmanagingtheinternet’s

backbone

illustrates

thepowerofcoordinated,technical

governance.

Theinternet’stechnicalinfrastructure,

encompassingbotharchitecturaldesignand

connectivitystandards,hasbeencrucialtoits

rapidexpansion.Thisfoundationhasenabled

globalconnectivity,cultivatedinteroperabilityandsupportedthegrowthofthedigitaleconomy.

Thestabilityandreliabilityoftheinternetare

atestamenttomultistakeholdergovernance

andstandardssettingbydistinctorganizations

suchastheInternetEngineeringTaskForce29

(IETF),theWorldWideWebConsortium30(W3C),

ICANN,InternetSociety31(ISOC),theITUandthe

InternationalOrganizationforStandardization32

(ISO).Notably,theseorganizationshelpedguidethetechnicaldeliveryofthenetworksandinfrastructuresupportinginternetinvariants,33orpropertiesthat

donotchangeevenastheinternetdoes,suchas:

1.Globalreachandintegrity:Anyinternetendpointcancommunicatewithanyotherendpointglobally,ensuringconsistentandreliabledatatransmission.

2.Generalpurpose:Theinternetsupportsa

widerangeofapplicationsandserviceswithoutinherentlimitations.

3.Permissionlessinnovation:Anyonecan

createanddeploynewservicesontheinternetwithoutneedingspecialapproval,cultivating

continuousinnovation.

4.Accessibility:Anyoneisfreetoconsumeorcreatecontentontheinternet,setupserversandestablishnetworks.

5.Interoperabilityandmutualagreement:Openstandardsandagreementsbetweennetworkoperatorsenableseamless

inter-networking.

6.Collaboration:Effectiveinternetgovernancereliesoncooperativeeffortsamongdiversestakeholderstosolveemergingissues.

7.Reusablebuildingblocks:Technologies

developedforspecificpurposesontheinternetcanberepurposedfornewapplications.

8.Nopermanentfavourites:Thesuccessoftheinternetdependsoncontinued

relevanceandutility,notonmaintainingafavouredstatus.

Whilethesesharedexpectationshaveeffectivelyguidedthedevelopmentofthetechnicaldeliveryofprotocolsandstandards,maintainingthe

robust,borderlessnatureoftheinternethas

presentedchallengesintermsofpolicy-making,enforcementandmulti-jurisdictionalcoordination.Thishighlightstheimportanceofcontinuous

multistakeholdercollaborationandinternationalcooperation,34especiallywhenlookingtowardsdevelopmentsinthemetaverseandotherformsofemergingtechnology.

Thesuccessofthesemultistakeholderefforts

inmanagingtheinternet’sbackboneillustrates

thepowerofcoordinated,technicalgovernance.Thisworkhassustainedtheinternet’sfoundationalelements,e