Some argue that the metaverse has arrived, while others disagree. This point of contention is why we decided to take a detour in this episode away from our usual focus on the Plus 1 stage of growth for companies to talk about the metaverse as an example of an emerging technology breaking through the Plus 1 stage of growth. Jessica Outlaw is a metaverse researcher and storyteller, and she guides us as we explore the ethical frontiers of the metaverse. 

In this episode, Jessica shares her insights on how mindful and ethical product design creates competitive advantages for technology companies. 

Key Lessons:

• Describing a new technology by framing it with an existing technology helps people get comfortable with new technology
• The adoption curve for new technologies often starts with enterprise customers first, which then helps consumers see the value and buy it for themselves.  
• PMs should be mindful about data collection and retention policies, especially with biometric data, and think carefully about how the data could be used. 
• Designing products for privacy, accessibility, and inclusion can be a competitive advantage by building trust with users.

Resources:

• The Extended Mind: https://www.extendedmind.io/
• XR Access: https://xraccess.org/
• Rise of Privacy Tech: https://www.riseofprivacytech.com/
• 2021 Privacy Survey: https://www.extendedmind.io/survey
• 2017 study of Women's first time experiences in social vr: https://www.extendedmind.io/why-women-dont-like-social-virtual-reality
• The weaponization of app data (this is a mobile example): https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkbxp8/grindr-location-data-priest-weaponization-app.
• 'Anonymised' data can never be totally anonymous https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/23/anonymised-data-never-be-anonymous-enough-study-finds
• VR and accessibility: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/vr-is-failing-the-very-people-it-could-benefit-most
• Psychopolitics by Byung-Chul Han: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2505-psychopolitics
• The Voices of VR Podcast which has a catalogue of more than 1000 interviews with VR/AR/Metaverse creators: https://voicesofvr.com/

Jessica Outlaw is a behavioral scientist and the founder of The Extended Mind. She creates decision tools to advance social and behavioral science into emerging technologies. She focuses on virtual and augmented reality because of their potential to give people new experiences of understanding data, co-locating across distance, and how embodiment can influence decision-making. She is the author of a book on cognitive biases in product development and another on decision-making. She is the creator of the online course the Tech Ethics Toolkit offered Spring every year.