World of Heritage Encountering the Metaverse Industry

In 1930, the German company "Echte Wagner" created a series of illustrations depicting how they envisioned the future would be. Source

I was impressed by China's coordinated effort and ambition to advance in any field: their museums are literally impressive but in terms of innovation and heritage strategy they still fail to do their best. Anyway, I felt compelled to share the country’s eagerness, especially as it aspires—over the long term—to achieve major breakthroughs in core technologies of the metaverse industry and to build a globally leading metaverse ecosystem.

At last year’s The Best in Heritage 2024 Conference, we learned that museums are undergoing a technological transformation—from becoming immersive experiences to employing robot registrars. The first such example I’ve heard of is already in use at a museum in China.

In the broader context of digital governance and the digital economy, the rise of digital culture and digital heritage is to be expected. Yet, we must remain the custodians of museums in their humanist mission. The challenges of the cyber-world are mere gadgets compared to those of the metaverse industry—which encompasses AI, blockchain, and virtual reality—a space where users interact with computer-generated environments and one another.

I’m not sure I fully understand all the components of the metaverse, let alone the potential implications for our creative and humanist practices of collecting, researching, communicating, and decision-making. Being a curator will require additional expertise and new forms of responsibility.

Will we ever have enough time to develop into a truly essential profession of public memory? We will desperately need institutions capable of distinguishing between reality and the imaginary world. The loss of a sense of reality is a medical condition.