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NCITE Researchers Explore Potential Dark Side of Metaverse in Nationally-Published Article

  • published: 2022/01/14
  • contact: Brandon Bartling - University Communications
  • email: unonews@unomaha.edu
A student demos an Oculus virtual reality device, which has metaverse applications, in the Jack and Stephanie Koraleski Commerce and Applied Behavioral Laboratory.

A student demos an Oculus virtual reality device, which has metaverse applications, in the Jack and Stephanie Koraleski Commerce and Applied Behavioral Laboratory.

New technologies and innovations often bring excitement and new opportunities, but they can also bring new risks as explained by researchers within UNO’s National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center.

The metaverse, a newer immersive virtual and/or augmented reality version of the internet, holds potential for new opportunities, but it could also be exploited by those looking to cause harm.

Joel Elson, Ph.D., Austin Doctor, Ph.D., and Sam Hunter, Ph.D., all researchers within NCITE at UNO, co-authored a piece that was recently published by The Conversation on a potential dark side of the metaverse.

“To be clear, we do not oppose the metaverse as a concept and, indeed, are excited about its potential for human advancement. But we believe that the rise of the metaverse will open new vulnerabilities and present novel opportunities to exploit them,” they write.

The full piece includes three ways that the metaverse will complicate efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. It can be read in its entirety on The Conversation’s website, on Yahoo! News, MarketWatch, Apple News, and dozens of other platforms and media outlets nationwide.

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