The Metaverse: The Ultimate Tool of Persuasion

Abstract

The metaverse can be described as the largescale societal shift from flat media viewed in the third person to immersive media experienced in the first person. While there is nothing inherently dangerous about immersive media technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, many policymakers have raised concerns about the extreme surveillance capabilities that powerful metaverse platforms could wield over users. What is often overlooked, however, is how surveillance-related risks become amplified when platforms are allowed to simultaneously target users with promotionally altered experiences. When considered in the context of control theory, the pairing of real-time surveillance and real-time influence raises new concerns, as large metaverse platforms could become extremely efficient tools for deception, manipulation, and persuasion. For these reasons, regulation should be considered that limit the ability of metaverse platforms to impart real-time influence on users based on real-time surveillance.

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Chapter 1
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DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6097-9.ch001
ABSTRACT
The metaverse can be described as the largescale societal shift from flat
media viewed in the third person to immersive media experienced in the first
person. While there is nothing inherently dangerous about immersive media
technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, many policymakers have
raised concerns about the extreme surveillance capabilities that powerful
metaverse platforms could wield over users. What is often overlooked, however,
is how surveillance-related risks become amplified when platforms are allowed
to simultaneously target users with promotionally altered experiences. When
considered in the context of control theory, the pairing of real-time surveillance
and real-time influence raises new concerns, as large metaverse platforms
could become extremely efficient tools for deception, manipulation, and
persuasion. For these reasons, regulation should be considered that limit the
ability of metaverse platforms to impart real-time influence on users based
on real-time surveillance.
The Metaverse:
The Ultimate Tool of Persuasion
Louis B. Rosenberg
Unanimous AI, USA

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The Metaverse
INTRODUCTION
The United Nations Human Rights Council recently adopted a draft resolution
entitled Neurotechnology and Human Rights (UN, n.d.). It’s aimed at protecting
humanity from devices that can “record, interfere, or modify brain activity.”
To describe the risks, the resolution uses euphemistic phrases like cognitive
engineering, mental privacy and cognitive liberty, but what we’re really
talking about is mind control.
I applaud the U.N. for taking up the issue of mind control, but
neurotechnology is not our greatest threat on this front. That’s because it
involves sophisticated hardware ranging from “brain implants” to wearable
devices that can detect and transmit signals through the skull. Yes, these
technologies could be very dangerous, but they’re unlikely to be deployed
at scale anytime soon. In addition, individuals who submit themselves to
implants or brain stimulation, will likely do so with informed consent.
On the other hand, there is an emerging category of products and technologies
that could threaten our cognitive liberties across large populations, requiring
nothing more than consumer-grade hardware and software from trusted
corporations. These seemingly innocent systems, which will be marketed
for a wide range of positive applications from entertainment to education,
targeting both kids and adults, could be dangerously misused and abused
without our knowledge or consent.
Unless regulated, the metaverse could become the most dangerous tool
of persuasion ever created. To raise awareness about the issues, I’ve written
many articles about the hidden dangers and the pressing need to protect
human rights (Rosenberg, 2022), but I have not explained from a technical
perspective, why immersive technologies could be as dangerous to our
cognitive liberties as brain implants. To do so, I’d like to introduce a basic
engineering concept called Feedback Control.
It comes from a technical discipline called Control Theory, which is the
method used by engineers to control the behaviors of a system. Think of the
thermostat in your house. You set a temperature goal and if your house falls
below that goal, the heat turns on. If your house gets too hot, it turns off.
When working properly, it keeps your house close to the goal you set. That’s
feedback control.
Of course, engineers like to make things more complex than they need
to, so the simple concept above is generally represented in a standard format
called a Control System Diagram as follows (Wikimedia Foundation, 2022).

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In the heating example, your house would be the SYSTEM, a thermometer
would be the SENSOR, and the thermostat would be the CONTROLLER.
An input signal called the Reference is the temperature you set as the goal.
The goal is compared to the actual temperature in your house (i.e., Measured
Output). The difference between the goal and measured temperature is fed
into the thermostat which determines what the heater should do. If the house
is too cold, its heater turns on. If it’s too hot its heater turns off. That’s a
classic control system.
Of course, control systems can get very sophisticated, enabling airplanes
to fly on autopilot and cars to drive themselves, even allowing robotic rovers
to land on mars. These systems need sophisticated sensors to detect driving
conditions or flying conditions or whatever else is appropriate for the task.
These systems also need powerful controllers to process the sensor data
and influence system behaviors in subtle ways. These days, the controllers
increasingly use AI algorithms at their core.
If we strip away the hype, the metaverse is about transforming how we
humans interact with the digital world. Today we mostly consume flat media
viewed in the third person. In the metaverse, digital content will become
immersive experiences that are spatially presented all around us. This shift
to first-person interactions will deeply alter our relationship with digital
information, changing us from outsiders peering in to participants engaging
content presented naturally in our surroundings. Thirty years ago I described
the potential like this (Rosenberg, 1994) – “Given the ability to draw upon
our highly evolved human facilities, users of virtual environment systems can
obtain an intimate level of insight and understanding.”
I still believe those words, but the power of immersive media can work in
both directions. Used in positive ways, it can unlock insight and understanding.
Used in negative ways, it could unleash the most powerful tool of persuasion
and manipulation we’ve ever created (Robertson, 2022). That’s because
immersive media can be far more impactful than traditional media, targeting
Figure 1. Generic “Control System” Diagram – (credit) Wikipedia

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our perceptual channels in the most personal and visceral form possible – as
experiences (Breves, 2021). And because we humans evolved to trust our
senses (i.e. believe our eyes and ears), the very notion that what we can see,
hear, and feel things directly around us that are entirely fabricated is not a
situation we’re mentally prepared for.
And yet, that’s not the most dangerous aspect of the metaverse.
To appreciate the true danger of immersive technologies, we can use the
basics of Control Theory. Referring back to the standard diagram above, we
see that only a few elements are needed to effectively control a system, whether
it’s a simple nightlight or a sophisticated robot. The two most important
elements are a SENSOR to detect the system’s real-time behaviors, and a
CONTROLLER that can influence those behaviors. The only other elements
needed are the feedback loops that continually detect behaviors and impart
influences, guiding the system towards desired goals.
Referring back to the standard diagram above, we see that only a few
elements are needed to effectively control a system, whether it’s a simple
thermostat or a sophisticated robot. The two most important elements are a
SENSOR to detect the system’s real-time behaviors, and a CONTROLLER
that can influence those behaviors. The only other elements needed are the
feedback loops that continually detect behaviors and impart influences,
guiding the system towards desired goals.
As you may have guessed, when considering the danger of the metaverse,
the system being controlled is you – the human in the loop. After all, when
you put on a headset and sink into the metaverse, you’re immersing yourself
in an environment that has the potential to act upon you more than you act
upon it. Said another way, you become an inhabitant of an artificial world
run by a third party that can monitor and influence your behaviors in real
time. That’s a very dangerous situation.
In the figure above, System Input to the human user are the immersive
sights, sounds, and touch sensations that are fed into your eyes, ears, hands,
and body. This is overwhelming input – possibly the most extensive and
intimate input we could imagine other than using surgical brain implants.
This means the ability to influence the system (i.e. you) is equally extensive
and intimate. On the other side of the user in the diagram above is the System
Output – that’s your actions and reactions.
This brings us to the SENSOR box in the diagram above. In the metaverse,
sensors will track everything you do in real-time – the physical motions of
your head, hands, and body. That includes the direction you’re looking, how
long your gaze lingers, the faint motion of your eyes, the dilation of your

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pupils, the changes in your posture and gait – even your vital signs are likely
to be tracked in the metaverse including your heartrate, respiration rate and
blood pressure.
For example, a recent headset deployed by META can accurately track your
facial expressions and eye motions (Johnson, 2022). The potential goes beyond
merely sensing the expressions that other people notice, but also includes
subconscious expressions that are too fast or subtle for human observers to
recognize. Known as “micro-expressions” these events can convey emotions
that users had not intended to express and are unaware of revealing (Li et
al., 2017). Users may not even be aware of feeling the emotions, leading to
situations where the system literally knows the user better than he or she
knows himself.
In addition, AI technology can be used to infer deeply personal information
that is not directly detected by sensors. Researchers at META showed that when
processing “sparse data” from just a few sensors on your head and hands, AI
technology could accurately predict the position, posture, and motion of the
rest of your body (Winkler, 2022). Other researchers have shown that body
motions such as gait can be used to infer a range of medical conditions from
depression to dementia (Wang et al., 2021; Jacobs, 2022).
In addition to tracking basic physical information, metaverse technology
already exists to infer your emotions in real-time from your facial expressions,
vocal inflections, gestures and body posture. Other technologies exist to
detect emotions from the blood-flow patterns on your face and the vital
signs detected from sensors in your earbuds (Benitez-Quiroz et al., 2018).
This means when you immerse yourself into the metaverse, the sensor in the
system diagram above will be able to track almost everything you do and
say in that world and accurately predict how you feel during each action,
reaction, and interaction.
Figure 2. Control System Diagram for Metaverse Environments

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In addition, the behavioral and emotional data described above could be
stored by metaverse platforms over time. When processed by AI algorithms,
this data could be turned into behavioral and emotional models that enable
platforms to accurately predict how users will react when presented with target
stimuli (i.e. System Input) from a controller. And because the metaverse is
not just virtual reality but also augmented reality, the tracking, storing, and
profiling of users will occur not just in fully simulated worlds but within
the real-world embellished with virtual content. In other words, metaverse
platforms will be able to track and profile behaviors and emotions throughout
our daily life (Rosenberg, 2022).
Of course, the danger is not simply that platforms can track and profile the
behaviors and emotions of users, it’s what they can do with that data. This
brings us to the CONTROLLER box in the diagram above. The controller
receives a Measured Error, which is the difference between a Reference
Goal (a desired behavior) and the Measured Output (a sensed behavior).
If metaverse platforms are allowed to adopt and deploy similar business
models as those used by social media, the Reference Goal could easily be
the AGENDA of third parties that aim to impart influence over users (see
diagram below). The third party could be a paying sponsor (or state actor)
that desires to persuade a user to buy a product or service, or to believe a
piece of propaganda, ideology, or misinformation.
Of course, advertising and propaganda have been around forever and can be
quite impactful when deployed using traditional marketing techniques. What’s
unique about the metaverse is the ability to create high-speed feedback loops
in which user behaviors and emotions are continuously fed into a controller
that can adapt its influence in real-time to optimize persuasion. This process
can easily cross the line from marketing to manipulation. To appreciate the
risks, let’s dig into the controller.
Figure 3. Control System Diagram with Third Party Agenda

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At its core, the CONTROLLER aims to “reduce the error” between the
desired behavior of a system and the measured behavior of the system. It
does this by imparting System Input as shown on the diagram above as an
innocent looking arrow. In the metaverse, this innocent arrow represents the
ability of platforms to modify the virtual or augmented environment the user
is immersed within.
In other words, in an unregulated metaverse, the controller can alter the
world around the user, modifying what they see and hear and feel in order
to drive that user towards the desired goal. And because the controller can
monitor the user in real-time, it will be able to continually adjust its tactics,
optimizing the persuasive impact, moment by moment, just like a thermostat
optimizes the temperature of a house.
To make this clear, let’s give some examples:
Imagine a user sitting in a coffee house in the metaverse (virtual or
augmented). A third party sponsor wants to inspire that user to buy a
particular product or service, or believe a piece of messaging, propaganda,
or misinformation. In the metaverse, advertising will not be the pop-up ads
and videos that we’re familiar with today but will be immersive experiences
that are seamlessly integrated into our surroundings (Rosenberg, 2022).
In this particular example, the controller creates a virtual couple sitting at
the next table. That virtual couple will be the System Input that is used to
influence the user.
First, the controller will design the virtual couple for maximum impact. This
means the age, gender, ethnicity, clothing styles, speaking styles, mannerisms,
and other qualities of the couple will be selected by AI algorithms to be optimally
persuasive upon the target user based on that user’s historical profile. Next,
the couple will engage in an AI-controlled conversation amongst themselves
that is within earshot of the target user. That conversation could be about
a car that the target user is considering purchasing, possibly framed as the
virtual couple discussing how happy they are with their own recent purchase.
As the conversation begins, the controller monitors the user in real-time,
assessing micro-expressions, body language, eye motions, pupil dilation, and
blood pressure to detect when the user begins paying attention. This could
be as simple as detecting a subtle physiological change in the user correlated
with comments made by the virtual couple. Once engaged, the controller will
modify the conversational elements to increase engagement. For example, if
the user’s attention increases as the couple talks about the car’s horsepower,
the conversation will adapt in real-time to focus on performance.

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As the overheard conversation continues, the user may be unaware that
he or she has become a silent participant, responding through subconscious
micro-expressions, body posture, and changes in vital signs. The AI controller
will highlight elements of the product that the target user responds most
positively to and will provide conversational counterarguments when the
user’s reactions are negative. And because the user does not overtly express
objections, the counterarguments could be profoundly influential. After
all, the virtual couple could verbally address emerging concerns before
those concerns have fully surfaced in the mind of the target user. This is not
marketing, it’s manipulation.
And in an unregulated metaverse, the target user may believe the virtual
couple are avatars controlled by other patrons. In other words, the target user
could easily believe they are overhearing an authentic conversation among
users and not realize it’s a promotionally altered experience that was targeted
specifically at them, injected into their surroundings to achieve a particular
agenda (Rosenberg, 2022).
And that’s a relatively benign example. Instead of pushing the features of
a new car or toy, the third-party agenda could be to influence the target user
about a political ideology, extremist propaganda, or outright misinformation
or disinformation. In addition, the example above targets the user as a passive
observer of a promotional experience in his or her metaverse surroundings.
In more aggressive examples, the controller will actively engage the user in
targeted promotional experiences.
For example, consider the situation in which an AI-controlled avatar that
looks and sounds like any other user in an environment engages the target
user in agenda-driven promotional conversation. In an unregulated metaverse,
the user may be entirely unaware that he or she has been approached by a
targeted advertisement, but instead might believe he or she is in a conversation
with another user. The conversation could start out very casual but could aim
towards a prescribed agenda.
In addition, the controller will likely have access to a wealth of data about
the target user, including their interests, values, hobbies, education, political
affiliation, etc. – and will use this to craft dialog that optimizes engagement.
In addition, the controller will have access to real-time information about
the user, including facial expressions, vocal inflections, body posture, eye
motions, pupil dilation, facial blood patterns, and potentially blood pressure,
heartrate, and respiration rate. The controller will adjust its conversational
tactics in real-time based on the overt verbal responses of the target user in

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combination with subtle and potentially subconscious micro-expressions
and vital signs.
It is well known that AI systems can outplay the best human competitors
at chess, go, poker, and a wealth of other games of strategy. From that
perspective, what chance does an average consumer have when engaged in
promotional conversation with an AI agent that has access to that user’s personal
background and interests, and can adapt its conversational tactics in real-time
based on subtle changes in pupil dilation in blood pressure? The potential
for violating a user’s cognitive liberty through this type of feedback-control
in the metaverse is so significant it likely borders on outright mind control.
To complete the diagram for metaverse-based feedback control, we can
replace the generic word controller with AI-based software that alters the
environment or injects conversational avatars that impart optimized influence
on target users. This is expressed using the phrase AI AGENTS below.
As described above, the metaverse could be used to create feedback-control
systems that monitor user activities (behaviors and emotions) in real-time
and employ AI technologies to modify their surroundings (i.e., their sights,
sounds, and interactive experiences) to maximize persuasion. This means that
large and powerful metaverse platforms could track billions of people and
impart influence on select individuals by altering the world around them in
targeted and adaptive ways. This scenario is frightening but not farfetched.
For these reasons, policymakers should consider meaningful guardrails aimed
at protecting populations from abuse or misuse of metaverse technologies
(The XRSI Privacy and Safety Framework, 2022; Rosenberg, 2022).
Figure 4. Rosenberg’s Scenario for Metaverse-based Mind Control (Source:
Rosenberg, 2022)

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