Moving from digital to virtual services

This article is written by Dr Kate Harrington, Head of Strategic Digital Initiatives, New South Wales Department of Customer Service.

• The problem: There are no rules in the metaverse. Government needs to define the different roles, responsibilities for customer protection and possibilities for innovation in service delivery through new technologies.
• Why it matters: The metaverse is more than a collection of immersive, computer-generated virtual worlds where we “work, play, relax, transact and socialise”, it represents a new virtual economy, where users can create, buy and sell goods. Customers need protection and governments need to maximise the opportunities that this new world offers.
• The solution: Governments need to prepare to meet the risks and opportunities created by the metaverse. We need to start developing policy and investment frameworks for how the metaverse can be used for increased productivity and what protections need to be put in place for customers.

Current use of metaverse technologies by government falls with a few narrow experiences. However, the potential for service delivery innovation is far greater. The New South Wales (NSW) government has been using virtual modelling through the NSW Spatial Digital Twin since 2020. Digital Twins are collaborative environments which allow users to share and visualise location information in a four-dimensional (4D) model (three spatial dimensions plus time) of the real world to support improved decision-making. This style of technology can also be applied to workforce efficiencies, modelling scenarios on process improvement which allows employers to test theories around productivity before impacting change on real people. 

The material change that the metaverse offers to the use of this type of technology is how we will interact with it and each other in the future. In the metaverse, virtual reality replaces the real world. This contrasts with many current applications which “reset” every time a user logs in. The metaverse is “persistent” and changes made by users or developers are part of the simulated dynamics of the experience. This means that a user may encounter changes that have occurred while they have been disconnected from the metaverse.

More than changing how we interact, the metaverse has become an extension of the physical world where businesses charge for both real-world and virtual goods and services.

The metaverse is generally accessed through either virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technologies, which may present a barrier for some customers and create equity issues in the delivery of government services. However, access to some content does not necessarily require a headset (or similar technology). Many metaverse “experiences” can be accessed via websites, but headsets will provide a heightened sense of immersion when engaging with VR / AR and 3D content compared to using a 2D screen.

Government in the metaverse

The NSW Government has published a report on the metaverse which outlines the different roles and responsibilities governments may undertake in this new world. These roles include:

• Application user, where internal activities may utilise metaverse VR technologies. For example, where multiple users undertake training and interact with each other in a shared presence environment.
• Application provider, where services may be provided to citizens through applications created or commissioned by government. For example, primary or secondary school students where the metaverse provides curated learning tools.
• Service provider, where government creates and maintains digital infrastructure for developers to use and/or build products from. For example, Digital Twins.
• Platform provider, where government needs to retain a high degree of control over the virtual experience. For example, vehicle driver testing using virtual reality tools and applications.
• Regulator, where citizens may require protection from goods and services delivered in the metaverse through private organisations.

It is the role of regulator where arguably the biggest challenges are for both citizens and government; with money, data and identity the core components of a new virtual economy enabled through the metaverse. More than changing how we interact, the metaverse has become an extension of the physical world where businesses charge for both real-world and virtual goods and services, with McKinsey research estimating the economic value of the metaverse could potentially reach $5 trillion by 2023.

However, other roles identified within the metaverse ecosystem are where true opportunity for government service innovation exists. Finding a balance between investing in emerging technology and maintaining traditional service delivery channels will be largely driven by uptake demand in the metaverse and the acceptance by customers of some VR and AR technologies.

Recommendations

Government needs to consider where technology is taking us and how government is set up to respond. In establishing policy and investment frameworks for how the metaverse can be used to increase productivity and what protections need to be put in place for customers, governments need to start by asking:

1. What risks does the metaverse pose for citizens which might require regulatory intervention?
2. How is citizen data and identity generated by government used and protected in the metaverse?
3. What is the depth and rate of citizen take up of metaverse technology?
4. What are citizen expectations for interacting with government in the metaverse?
5. How can we ensure inclusion and equity for customers with accessibility needs?
6. Will customers accept services delivered by government through VR and/or AR applications?
7. How will the public sector workforce respond to the introduction of metaverse technology a) for internal use? b) for customer service delivery?
8. How will investment be channelled into developing metaverse technologies for use by government?

The metaverse is happening whether governments embrace it or not, and citizens will look to government for equal rights and protections in the metaverse that they enjoy in the real world.

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