Rima Abdul Malak, Minister of Culture, and Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate in charge of Digital Transition and Telecommunications, received the exploratory report on the development of metavers on October 24. This report calls for the definition of a real French and European policy on metavers, and presents a series of proposals hoping to bring together experts, private and public actors, researchers and citizens to discuss them.
Metavers offer major opportunities, from industry to health, including training and the economy, and represent an undeniable opportunity for France and Europe.
On February 14, 2022, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery, the Minister of Culture and the Secretary of State for Digital Transition and Electronic Communications issued a letter of intent to set up an exploratory mission on the development of metavers.
The mission was carried out by Camille François, a researcher at Columbia University and director of a leading augmented reality company, Adrien Basdevant, a lawyer specializing in new technology law and a member of the National Digital Council, and Rémi Ronfard, Inria research director and associate researcher at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs.
Opening the debate on metavers
Projects in the metaverse are multiplying, but the terms used refer to different uses, technologies, actors and issues. The exploratory mission therefore set out to ” provide keys to understanding in order to clarify the debate, seize emerging opportunities, better understand the risks posed by metavers, and bring together French players around a common horizon.
To this end, the co-commissioners interviewed more than 80 personalities from various backgrounds: virtual reality and blockchain entrepreneurs, cultural actors, artists, video game professionals, and researchers in social sciences, artificial intelligence and computer science. These consultations led them to formulate a series of proposals and to call for debate.
The 10 proposals for a French and European policy on metavers
To define this policy, the report proposes ten action levers aimed at developing the technological infrastructure, supporting innovation, focusing on uses, orchestrating regulation and taking into account societal and environmental issues:
- Seize the opportunity of metavers to regain leadership positions in global digital services, in France and on the European continent
- Start work now on adapting European legislation (RGDP, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act) to the challenges of metavers
- Develop a rigorous analysis of the value chains of metavers in order to better guide strategic investment areas and limit the risks of loss of sovereignty or value leakage
- Seize the opportunity of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to bring together French metaverse players around concrete projects, particularly in the areas of culture, regional development and heritage
- Encourage public authorities to develop common and essential services that will enable the emergence of a plurality of interoperable metavers
- To use the public order to meet the objectives of cultural and technological sovereignty by supporting hybrid couplings between French technological structures and cultural institutions
- Reinvesting in technical standards negotiation bodies, to ensure that France and the main French players actively participate in discussions on the interoperability of immersion technologies
- Support interdisciplinary research initiatives to simultaneously develop experimental metavers guided by societal needs (culture, health, education, environment) and the means to evaluate the socio-technical risks through empirical studies
- To create a research and coordination institute, on the model of Ircam, which would be at the same time a research laboratory in computer science dedicated to immersive arts, a place of coordination between researchers and artists for the creation of innovative immersive works in metavers and a counter of expertise for all the cultural institutions concerned
- Explore eco-responsible solutions and develop a system to measure the environmental impact of the Metaverse infrastructures
Rima Abdul Malak, Minister of Culture, states:
“This report of the exploratory mission on metavers embraces all the issues related to the development of these new digital spaces and shows to what extent creators are required to play a role of precursor to determine their full potential. The Ministry of Culture will use these recommendations to support these new uses and to implement an ambitious strategy to support creation, innovation and the distribution of works in these digital spaces. The Ministry of Culture will also ensure that our values are defended in these new territories: freedom of expression and creation, access to culture for all, and protection of copyright .
Jean-Noël Barrot adds:
“This report is an important step in the development of metavers in France and proposes concrete and activable levers of action to French technological, cultural and industrial players. Metavers will be decisive for the future of digital technology and Web3, where France must play a leading role at the global level by relying on its know-how, global industrial leaders and exemplary entrepreneurial spirit. “
Translated from Focus sur le rapport exploratoire sur le développement des métavers
