A book to read if you're working on Identity - "Metaverse Evolution: A new world of "liberation" and "creativity" emerging in the wilderness of virtual reality"

Table of Contents

First, to those in the identity industry

For now, if you are interested in identity, this book is for you."Metaverse Evolution"It is better to read it. By being freed from the physical limitations of reality as a metaverse or a beautiful human, and being able to handle things in an abstract space, the issues and requirements of identity and privacy management become so clear!

In the first place, "identity" is the "recognition" of how we perceive ourselves and the "sensation" that this is recognized by others and society.
In physical reality, we basically had to accept the name, appearance, and voice we were born with. In other words, identity was something that was "given."
Unlike the era of physical reality, where we basically had to "accept" something that was fixed and given to us, in the Metaverse era, our identity will be something we can freely "design," and it will be possible to live life as the person we want to be.
Viewing humans as divisible "Dividuals"
You can freely design your life by "switching" between multiple identities
Plato's "Theory of Ideas" - The real world we see is not a reality, but merely a shadow of an idea
The Metaverse allows you to freely design your identity and become who you want to be

(Source) "Metaverse Evolution"

My Book¹Those who have been following his blogs, lectures, etc. will probably think, "Yes, yes, that's it." The following figure was written in June 2011."A Non-Technical Introduction to Digital Identity"This is a diagram that has been used since then, but it says almost the same thing. Although the words used are different, such as "Divided Person" vs. "Identity (Partial Identity)," most of the mapping can be done.

However, this book is probably 100 times easier to understand. This is probably because, in this diagram, the self-image, which is treated abstractly, is given substance as an avatar, giving it a tangible feel, and at the same time, everything is not lumped together in the classification of "attributes," but is categorized and explained as "the world of spiritual words," "the world of vision," and "the world of sound." Of course, there is also a simple difference in the writing ability.

[Chart 1] Self-image (identity) and the pursuit of happiness

What is particularly important is the freedom of the soul and the idea that identity is not something that is given to us by others, but something that we establish for ourselves. Many "identity experts" forget this point. Many of them have a medieval mindset that believes that identity is something that is given to us by God or the government and that we accept it.

Medieval Identity vs. Modern Identity

The main differences between the modern and medieval view of the individual may be summarized as follows:

Medieval View of the Individual

Individuals existed as part of a community and were defined by their roles and status within the community.²
Under the influence of Christianity, individuals were perceived as "extra-worldly individuals" in their relationship with God.³ ⁴
Emphasis was placed on belonging to and playing a role in a community rather than on the individual's inner self.⁵

Modern view of the individual

Individuals came to be viewed as autonomous beings, and emphasis was placed on the individual's interiority and sense of self.⁶⁷
Under the influence of the Enlightenment, individuals were freed from the constraints of medieval community and began to experience "inner solitude."⁸
Individual rights and freedoms were emphasized, and individualistic values emerged.⁹¹⁰
The concept of privacy was born, and the private sphere came to be regarded as sacred.¹¹

In other words, while in the Middle Ages, individuals were seen as part of a community, in modern times, the autonomy and inner self of the individual was emphasized, and individualistic values were established. You could also call it the freedom of the soul. Unfortunately, however, there are quite a few people who have not yet reached this individualistic value system or modern view of the individual. That is why they think that their avatar must resemble their real-world self, or that their identity wallet should contain a government-issued personal attribute certificate (PID) and revolve around it.

This is not limited to wallets, but similar things happen with identity verification on Web 2.0-style SNS. As I experienced earlier, to be verified on LinkedIn, your name must be the same as it appears on your passport. Passport names are registered by the government as identifiers when crossing borders, and do not represent who you are. I work as Nat Sakimura in English, but when I "verify my identity," I am forced to be Natsuhiko Sakimura. What is that? If I did that, I would not be able to link it to my past achievements. No, it's not such a trivial matter. Taking away someone's name is tantamount to denying their personality. Just like Yubaba in Spirited Away takes away Chihiro's name.

As this book says, a name is an "identity in the world of Kotodama." This "freedom to name yourself" is very important. Because, as this book says, "By being repeatedly called by those around me every day using this 'Kotodama', I can gain self-awareness as ___."

Needless to say, the freedom of "Avatar: Identity in a Visual World" (this book) is also important. "When I think of it as an expression of my own identity, I don't want to be tied to the shape of a real human" (this book). Or is that it? If I have a disability in my limbs, does that mean I have to have a disability in the metaverse too?

A symbol of this freedom is the Vtuber. In Japan, there is a cultural background such as Bunraku puppet theatre and female Kabuki actors, so Vtuber has been accepted to a great extent, but in the West, if they are not careful, they could be criticized. Whether Vtuber can be accepted or not will be a litmus test for whether or not there is any potential discriminatory attitude.

The book touches on the possibility that Meta may impose regulations, but I wouldn't be surprised if Apple does the same with Vision Pro. In some cases, they may say that this is a UX measure to make it easier to create VR avatars. However, such moves must be resisted to the fullest. In Japan, the "right to become whoever you want to be" is recognized based on the theory of the right to control one's self-image and the "right to self-determination regarding appearance, etc.", and based on the indirect application theory, businesses such as Meta should not be allowed to infringe on this right.¹².

These discussions about identity are summarized in Chapter 4, so if you're short on time, I would recommend reading that part first.

Also helpful regarding privacy

Also, unlike identity, there is not a separate chapter on privacy, but there are a number of useful references.

In the traditional Japanese art of Bunraku puppet theatre, a man in black can be seen behind the gracefully dancing beautiful female puppet. However, it would be rude to point this out.

This leads to the basic principle of data protection: "Even if data is visible, it should not be used for purposes other than those intended.""Adult privacy"Of course, being able to "become who you want to be" is what we call "self-image control."¹³Needless to say, these are two sides of the same coin.

ISO is currently starting to consider privacy in the metaverse, and I would like to have those involved read this book. I would like to see an English version.

Of course, there is also an explanation of the metaverse.

Well, since I'm in the identity and privacy industry, I've jumped straight into the specifics of that topic, but this book is about the metaverse. It provides thorough explanations, backed up by data, on topics such as "Defining the metaverse: Seven requirements for its realization," an introduction to the four major social VRs, the technologies that support them, the characteristics of the residents who live in the metaverse, and why people become virtual reality avatars. What's more, it's full of catchy phrases that will make you want to underline them with a marker. For example:

Voice: Identity in an Acoustic World
The Proteus Effect on Your Mind
Vtuber is a dry landscape garden. An extension of the culture of metaphor.
(Currently) it is natural for people to "keep learning new things forever." In a society where everyone has to accept that they will always be "immature," the new value system that replaces "self-esteem as an adult" is the value of "kawaii," which is the value of adoring each other's "immaturity."

(Source) "Metaverse Evolution"

I ended up reading it on my Kindle, underlining a lot of it. The above is just a small part of it. I highly recommend you buy this book and read it.

It's even better if you watch the video explanation as well.

Although this book is a very good introduction in text, video is still more suitable for getting an idea of the metaverse. In that sense, I also recommend watching the presentation "I'm a Virtual Beautiful Girl, but I Tried Speaking at the UN" by the author, "Virtual Beautiful Girl Nemu," at the UN's IGF 2023. It's a very easy-to-understand presentation. It's in English, but...

This is the result of a joint project with the United Nations-sponsored Internet Governance Forum (IGF)¹⁴ ) 2023 Kyoto Day 0

“Event No.134 Talk with Metaverse residents – a new identity and diversity | Internet Governance Forum”(October 2023, 10 8:18-00:19)

This is a recording of the session. I also had my own session on this day.¹⁵Unfortunately, I was at the IGF venue but couldn't participate live. I think I was talking with someone from the OECD about Trusted Data Intermeidaries (TDI) at this time.

so

I really recommend this book. I was reading it on the plane from San Francisco, and tears just started flowing when I read the fourth chapter. I highly recommend buying it and reading it!

[Change history]