Building a Responsible Metaverse This is an important lesson to remember now, particularly with the rise of new metaverse platforms built on different governance models and content-creation economies enabled by blockchain that utilize immersive human- Remember Second Life? When it launched in machine interfaces. Virtual experiences may be 2003, it was arguably the first major metaverse more advanced today, but nothing has changed environment. Second Life attracted thousands when it comes to human sentiment. of early adopters who could play and create in a virtual community with one guiding principle: “Be nice.” This approach worked—until it didn’t. Unpleasant or harmful player behavior, inappropriate images or other uncomfortable As companies look to build their own metaverse situations proliferated quickly. Linden Lab, the experiences, they must put trust at the core of creators of Second Life, started banning harmful their strategy. The world needs a responsible behavior and adding features that allowed metaverse that is built with past lessons and people more control over what they saw and existing challenges in mind, so we can better how other avatars could interact with them. anticipate—and account for—what lies ahead. These features increased users’ trust, which Otherwise, the metaverse will not live up to its proved critical for retention and engagement. potential to transform how work is performed, Two decades later, Second Life endures, but how products and services are delivered, how one can’t help but wonder: what could Second goods are distributed and how businesses Life have become had it been built with our trust operate. and safety in mind from the start? 3