Supporting users and creators in online realities across experiences, creativity, and business
Research theme 3 focuses on exploring the challenges and opportunities of virtual environments and economies, with a particular emphasis on creating supportive, ethical, and safe environments for users and creators. We seek to aid the development of an inclusive, accessible, and equitable virtual environment, where all users can thrive and flourish.
To address the challenges of building metaverses that are supportive of users, equal, and promote mental and physical health, we focus on developing frameworks for building virtual environments that are user-centric and prioritize the well-being of users. This involves exploring new interaction paradigms, developing better tools for understanding user behaviour and preferences and creating guidelines for designing virtual environments that prioritize inclusivity, accessibility, and safety.
Another important area of research is the study of virtual economies, which are becoming increasingly complex and connected. This will involve developing new methods for analysing game data and studying human behaviour in virtual environments, as well as exploring new policy frameworks for regulating virtual economies and protecting users from exploitation.
Finally, research on this theme also focuses on promoting physical and online communities that support users and creators in virtual environments. This will involve exploring new ways of fostering collaboration and creativity in virtual spaces, as well as developing new business models that enable creators to monetize their work while ensuring that users are not exploited.
As with all our research, the work carried out on this theme is interdisciplinary, drawing on expertise from fields such as computer science, psychology, economics, ethics and quantitative sociology. By working together, we can develop new insights into the challenges and opportunities of virtual environments and economies and develop solutions that promote the well-being of users and creators in these spaces.
Core challenges
What are the key features and requirements of a supportive and sustainable metaverse, and how can we design and govern it to benefit users, creators, and society at large?
How can we better understand and leverage virtual economies, such as in-game markets, cryptocurrency, and NFTs, for social and economic development, and what are the risks and opportunities associated with them?
How can we ensure that virtual environments and economies are transparent and secure, and respect users' privacy and rights, and how can we promote digital ethics and safety in these contexts?
Approaches
Our work in this theme is mainly focused on large-scale data analytics, but we also conduct ethnographic, survey, and experimental studies to examine user behaviour and preferences in virtual environments and economies and to identify the social, cultural, and economic factors that shape them. We also develop and test innovative governance models and policy frameworks for virtual environments and economies, based on principles of participatory design. A key focus is on exploring the user experience of virtual environments and identifying opportunities to improve the accessibility, inclusivity, and safety of these environments.
Goals
- New economic models and algorithms for managing virtual economies that are fair, sustainable, and transparent. These will help to address issues such as inequality and exploitation in virtual economies.
- Design guidelines and best practices for creating entertaining, engaging, inclusive, accessible, and safe virtual environments. These are aimed at use by designers and developers to create virtual environments that support the well-being and mental health of users.
- New tools and technologies for remote therapy and rehabilitation that leverage virtual and augmented reality. These could help to improve access to healthcare and rehabilitation services, particularly for people living in remote or underserved areas.
- Collaborations with industry partners to apply the research findings and develop new products and services that promote the well-being and flourishing of users in virtual environments.