Metaverses: How their development will affect workers and employers

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study the possible impact of metaverses on the parties of labour relations in the future. Metaverses are permanent virtual spaces where users can relax, work and receive services. The development of digital technologies, primarily VR/AR technologies, contributes to the creation of metaverses. The activities of global IT giants such as Facebook* and Microsoft make us think about how the increase in human presence in virtual reality will affect the world of work. Legal regulation will need to be adapted accordingly if the relationship between employers and workers changes. To understand the problem, it is necessary to find out how the metaverse will differ from modern digital platforms, how large will be the proportion of workers who will take virtual jobs in the metaverses in relation to the total number of workers. The results of the study allow us to conclude that with the further digitalization of the world economy, it is very likely that metaverses will become a familiar working environment for most workers in the near future. In this regard, the presence of artificial intelligence in the world of work will increase, since the 3D digital environment is a space in which there are even more opportunities for artificial intelligence systems than in physical reality. Employers will use artificial intelligence to algorithmize management processes, which will increase the economic efficiency of activities. Working in the metaverse will become part of the digital society, and having the skills to quickly adapt to such work is one of the conditions important for survival in the world of the future.