Foreign Scholars on the Metaverse

The Metaverse is an artificial space running parallel to the real world, a virtual-reality network world supported by technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and three-dimensional space (3D).

元宇宙（Metaverse）是一个平行于现实世界运行的人造空间，是由增强现实技术（AR）、虚拟现实技术（VR）、三维空间（3D）等技术支持的虚拟现实的网络世界。

I. Research on the Core Role of Digital Technology in Constructing the Metaverse Scene

一、关于数字技术对元宇宙场景搭建的核心作用的研究

The construction of the metaverse scene depends on a variety of digital technologies; therefore, foreign scholars primarily analyze and understand the metaverse or virtual worlds from the characteristics and applications of digital technology.

元宇宙场景的搭建依赖于多种数字技术，因此，国外学者主要从数字技术的特征和应用入手分析和理解元宇宙或虚拟世界。

John D.N. Dionisio, William G. Burns III, and Richard Gilbert: “3D Virtual Worlds and the Metaverse: Current Status and Future Possibilities”, ACM Computing Surveys, Vol.45, No.3, 2013

约翰·D.N.迪奥尼西奥、威廉·G.彭斯三世、理查德·基尔伯特：《3D虚拟世界与元宇宙：现状与未来》（John D.N.Dionisio, William G.Burns III and Richard Gilbert, “3D Virtual Worlds and the Metaverse: Current Status and Future Possibilities”, ACM Computing Surveys, Vol.45, No.3, 2013）

This article argues that the metaverse is a computer-generated world, whose prefix “Meta-” refers to a transcendence distinct from metaphysical transcendence. It denotes a fully immersive three-dimensional digital environment or “shared online space.” The generation of three-dimensional virtual worlds (the metaverse) benefits from the following four aspects: immersive realism strategies, ubiquitous access and identity authentication, interoperability, and scalability. Immersive realism strategies aim to satisfy users’ psychological and emotional investment in the metaverse environment. Ubiquitous access and identity authentication ensure that a true metaverse must provide a space as enduring as the existing physical world for human culture and interaction, a space in which individuals experience no obstacles or inconvenience when shuttling between the real and the virtual. Interoperability, beyond referring to the ability to seamlessly exchange information between different platforms or systems, also implies the formation of certain consensus and standards. Only when corresponding standards allow seamless exchange or transmission of information between completely heterogeneous virtual worlds will a true metaverse emerge. Given that the physical world has a potentially infinite scale in many dimensions, scalability becomes the most challenging aspect among all the characteristics of virtual worlds. In addition, some non-technical elements, such as political and economic systems and collaboration among participants, are also important conditions affecting the construction of the metaverse. A true metaverse depends on large-scale technological breakthroughs and collective joint efforts.

本文认为，元宇宙是一个由计算机生成的世界，其前缀“Meta-”所指的超越性与形而上学的超越性有所区别。它指的是一个完全沉浸式的三维数字环境或“共享在线空间”。三维虚拟世界（元宇宙）的生成得益于以下四个方面，即沉浸式现实主义策略、无处不在的访问和身份认证、互操作性和可扩展性。沉浸式现实主义策略是为了满足用户在元宇宙环境中的心理和情感投入。无处不在的访问和身份认证保证了一个真正的元宇宙必须为人类文化和交互提供一个如现有的物理世界一样永续存在的空间，在这个空间中，个体并不会在真实与虚拟的穿梭之间感受到任何障碍与不便。互操作性除了指向不同的平台或系统之间无缝交换信息的能力之外，还意味着形成某种共识和标准。只有相应的标准允许在完全异质的虚拟世界之间无缝地交换或传递信息，真正的元宇宙才会出现。鉴于物理世界在许多维度上都具有潜在的无限规模，可扩展性成为了所有虚拟世界的特性中最具挑战性的部分。此外，一些非技术性要素，如政治经济制度、参与者之间的相互协作等，也是影响元宇宙构建的重要条件。一个真正的元宇宙依赖于大规模的技术突破和集体的共同努力。

Kim J.L. Nevelsteen: “Virtual World, Defined from A Technological Perspective and Applied to Video Games, Mixed Reality, and the Metaverse”, Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, Vol.29, No.1, 2018

金·J.L.内韦尔斯汀：《技术视角下的虚拟世界及其在电子游戏、混合现实和元宇宙中的应用》（Kim J.L.Nevelsteen, “Virtual World, Defined from A Technological Perspective and Applied to Video Games, Mixed Reality, and the Metaverse”, Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, Vol.29, No.1, 2018）

This article, starting from concepts such as real time, virtual spatiality, and virtual interaction, distinguishes the inherent differences among various construction technologies of virtual worlds, and thereby proposes a detailed definition of the virtual world: “in a simulated environment, multiple agents can interact virtually, acting and reacting to things, phenomena, and the environment; agents can be zero or more humans, each represented by an entity called a virtual self/an avatar, or multiple software agents; all actions/reactions/interactions must occur in a real-time shared space-time, a non-pausable virtual environment; the environment consists of many data spaces, the collection of which constitutes a shared data space.” Using this definition, Nevelsteen analyzes whether the metaverse is a virtual world, arguing that the internet itself consists of multiple spatiotemporal fragments, closer to a world within worlds than a virtual world parallel to the real world. The key difference between the metaverse and the internet is that the former supports real-time interaction.

本文从实时（real time）、虚拟空间（virtual spatiality）、虚拟交互（virtual interaction）等概念出发，区分了虚拟世界的各种构建技术的内在差异性，并由此对虚拟世界提出了一个详细的定义，即：“在一个模拟环境中，多个代理主体可以虚拟地进行交互，对事物、现象和环境采取行动和做出反应；代理主体可以是零个或多个人，每个人都由称为虚拟自我/化身（virtual self /an avatar）或多个软件代理的实体来表示；所有动作/反应/交互都必须发生在实时共享的时空、不可暂停的虚拟环境中；环境由许多数据空间组成，这些数据空间的集合构成一个共享数据空间。”借助这一定义，内韦尔斯汀对元宇宙是否是一个虚拟世界进行了分析，认为互联网自身由多个时空分片组成，更接近于世界中的世界，而非平行于现实世界的虚拟世界。元宇宙与互联网之间最关键的区别在于前者支持实时性。

Morteza Hemmati: “The Metaverse: An Urban Revolution Effect of the Metaverse on the Perceptions of Urban Audience”, Tourism of Culture, Vol.2, No.7, 2022

莫尔塔扎·赫马蒂：《城市革命：元宇宙对市民感观的颠覆性影响》（Morteza Hemmati, “The Metaverse: An Urban Revolution Effect of the Metaverse on the Perceptions of Urban Audience”, Tourism of Culture, Vol.2, No.7, 2022）

This article takes the emergence of virtual cities supported by three-dimensional space technology as an entry point for analyzing how the metaverse reshapes the world. From a media perspective, the metaverse can be understood as a tool for presenting the world in three dimensions. By simulating human senses and thereby forming a virtual body, it enables humans to precisely experience virtual space, thus creating images more credible than reality. Urban landscape, as a product of human interaction with the city, is deeply influenced by media tools in the way its images are presented. The traditional city is a symbolic phenomenon reflecting real-world experience, but the emergence of the metaverse allows humans to obtain virtual-world experiences even while physically located in a city, because the virtual world permits users to overcome bodily limitations as much as possible. This means that experiences in the virtual world become linked to experiences in the real world; an individual’s experiences in the virtual world will in turn affect the real world, and human perception of urban symbols can be transformed without changing the physical form of the city. This is precisely the important reason why the metaverse can be understood as an urban revolution: the metaverse possesses the immense capacity to reshape the urban landscape without altering the city’s physical form, acting only on the mode of individual experiential perception.

本文将三维空间技术支持下虚拟城市的出现作为分析元宇宙重构世界的切入口。从媒介的角度看，元宇宙可以被理解为一种以三维方式呈现世界的工具。它通过模拟人类感观，进而形成虚拟身体，使得人类能够精准地体验虚拟空间，从而创造出比现实更可信的图像。而城市景观作为人类与城市互动的产物，其图像的呈现方式深受媒介工具的影响。传统的城市是一种反映现实世界经验的象征现象，而元宇宙的出现则使得人类即使身处物理意义上的城市中也可以获得虚拟世界的体验，因为虚拟世界允许用户尽可能克服身体的限制。这就意味着，虚拟世界的体验与现实世界的体验发生了关联，个体在虚拟世界中的经历将反过来影响现实世界，人类对城市符号的感知可以在不改变城市物理形态的情况下进行转换。这正是元宇宙可以被理解为一场城市革命的重要原因，即元宇宙具有在不改变城市物理形态、仅作用于个体经验感知方式的情况下，就可以实现重塑城市景观的巨大能力。

Hee-soo Choi and Sang-heon Kim: “A Content Service Deployment Plan for Metaverse Museum Exhibitions: Centering on the Combination of Beacons and HMDs”, International Journal of Information Management, Vol.37, No.1, 2017

崔熙秀、金相宪：《元宇宙博物馆展览的内容服务：基于信标系统和头戴式显示器的部署模式》（Hee-soo Choi and Sang-heon Kim, “A Content Service Deployment Plan for Metaverse Museum Exhibitions: Centering on the Combination of Beacons and HMDs”, International Journal of Information Management, Vol.37, No.1, 2017）

This article treats the metaverse as an important means of innovating existing museum exhibitions. Today, the exhibition methods of museums have undergone significant changes. New exhibition methods employ a variety of digital technologies to present exhibition content, enabling visitors to better understand the exhibits. However, such methods mostly rely on a one-way mode of information transmission, lacking interaction between visitors and exhibits, and the strict boundary between real space and virtual space makes it difficult for museums to become genuine experiential spaces. Yet the application of entirely new technological devices such as head-mounted displays provides support for the unification of real space and virtual space, thereby creating space for the integration of virtual reality and augmented reality in the metaverse. This service is called “metaverse exhibition experiential content service.” Furthermore, in the virtual world, audiences can weave their own stories and provide diversified experiential content, thus breaking the traditional mode of content production (single-menu operation or one-way content output). The individual’s unique analysis and perception of visible objects constitutes distinctive content in the virtual world.

本文将元宇宙作为现有博物馆展览革新的重要方式。今天，博物馆的展览方式发生了很大的变化。新的展览方式运用多种数字技术呈现展览内容，能够让参观者更好地了解展品。然而，这类方法大多依赖于信息传递的单向方式，参观者与展品之间缺乏互动，而且真实空间与虚拟空间之间严格的界线使得博物馆难以成为真正的体验空间。但是，头戴式显示器等全新技术设备的应用为真实空间与虚拟空间的统一提供了支持，从而为元宇宙中虚拟现实与增强现实的融合创造了空间。这种服务被称为“元宇宙展览体验式内容服务”（metaverse exhibition experiential content service）。此外，在虚拟世界中，观众被可以编织自己的故事并提供多样化的体验内容，这就打破了传统的内容生产方式（单一菜单操作或单向内容输出）。个体对可见之物独到的分析和感受构成了虚拟世界中独特的内容。

II. Research on Communication Methods in the Metaverse

二、关于元宇宙中交流方式的研究

Foreign scholars have conducted research on communication methods in the metaverse mainly from the levels of the individual, the enterprise, and the community, discussing the relationship between virtual communication and real-world communication, as well as the role of virtual communication in real life.

国外学者主要从个体、企业和共同体等层面展开了对元宇宙中交流方式的研究，讨论了虚拟交流与现实交流的关系以及虚拟交流对现实生活的作用。

Sara Pita and Luís Pedro, “Verbal and Non-verbal Communication in Second Life”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura (eds.), *Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms*, Hershey: IGI Global, 2012.

萨拉·皮塔、路易·佩德罗：《网络虚拟游戏（又译作“第二人生”，SL）中的语言和非语言交流》（Sara Pita and Luís Pedro, “Verbal and Non-verbal Communication in Second Life”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura(eds.), Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms,Hershey: IGI Global, 2012）

This article discusses the verbal and non-verbal communication used by players in the online virtual game Second Life. Verbal communication can provide information on multiple dimensions such as participants, time, space, and intrinsic meaning, while non-verbal communication can compensate for the ambiguity of verbal communication, express emotions and feelings more directly, and shape players’ individual behavior and image. The authors found that although bodily movements and facial expressions are possible in the online virtual game, players tend to use speech or text for communication, because non-verbal communication is limited by the technology of virtual space, and the virtual avatar cannot display the player’s true personality. Their research results also show that, in order to identify communication partners, players often use voice for communication, which also reveals a major dilemma in current virtual world communication: it is necessary to build a more powerful database of gestures and movements, but establishing a connection between the appearance of the virtual avatar and the player’s behavioral state is fraught with difficulties. Compared with the real world, the lack of non-verbal communication in the virtual world restricts interaction and interpersonal communication; limited gestures and movements weaken the role of non-verbal communication in emphasizing information content. In the virtual world, even when a leader or host is present, players wish to use virtual avatars to share and communicate on an equal footing, because the non-verbal actions of the virtual avatar help to emphasize the key points of one’s own speech. The online virtual game creates a friendly environment; the absence of authority figures and the use of open, creative spaces facilitate communication and expression of opinions among players. Therefore, strengthening communication among multicultural groups and developing non-verbal communication systems are directions for the future development of the metaverse.

本文讨论了玩家在网络虚拟游戏中使用的语言和非语言交流问题。语言交流能够提供有关参与者、时间、空间、内在含义等多重维度的信息，而非语言交流则可以弥补语言交流存在模糊性的缺陷，更直接地表达情绪和情感，并且塑造玩家的个人行为和形象。作者发现，尽管网络虚拟游戏中可以有肢体动作和面部表情，但是玩家更倾向于使用语言或文字来进行交流，因为非语言交流受到虚拟空间技术的限制，且虚拟化身并不能展现玩家的真实性格。他们的研究结果还显示，为了甄别交流对象，玩家经常使用语音进行交流，这也揭示了当前虚拟世界交流的一大困境：有必要建立更强大的手势和动作数据库，但是在虚拟化身的外观与玩家的行为状态之间建立联系却是困难重重。与现实世界相比，虚拟世界中非语言交流的缺失限制了互动和人际交流，有限的手势和动作削弱了非语言交流在强调信息内容方面的作用。在虚拟世界中，即使有领导或主持人在场，玩家也希望使用虚拟化身平等地进行分享和沟通，因为虚拟化身的非语言动作有助于强调自己的发言重点。网络虚拟游戏创造了一个友好的环境，权威人物的缺席以及开放的、创造性的空间的利用有助于玩家之间的交流和意见表达。因此，加强多元文化群体的沟通和开发非语言交流系统是元宇宙未来发展的方向。

Katrin Tobies and Bettina Maisch, “The 3D Innovation Sphere: Exploring the Use of Second Life for Innovation Communication”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura (eds.), *Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms*, 2012.

卡特琳·托比斯、贝蒂娜·迈施：《3D创新：网络虚拟游戏在创新交流中的应用》（Katrin Tobies and Bettina Maisch, “The 3D Innovation Sphere: Exploring the Use of Second Life for Innovation Communication”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura(eds.), Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms,2012）

This article, from the perspective of the enterprise, emphasizes the important role that virtual world communication plays in daily operations. The authors list various activities that can be participated in through virtual avatars, such as job fairs, employee meetings, trade fairs, online learning, and scientific experiment testing, arguing that virtual world communication helps save travel expenses and time, is not limited by time and space, and the anonymous nature of virtual avatars is also conducive to obtaining more truthful and effective feedback. Many enterprises have gained popularity through communication platforms built in the virtual world, shaped their corporate image, and thereby obtained broader media influence. Enterprises can achieve interaction and engagement through “innovation communication.” “Innovation communication” can create a common social practice; the online virtual game is a successful case. The communication methods of the virtual world can replace real-world communication methods that are costly in both time and money, and can vividly visualize the unique uses, efficacy, and significance of new products or services through multi-sensory experience. Virtual reality can realistically simulate these new products, giving interested customers the opportunity to personally experience the product through a virtual avatar and engage in direct dialogue with the company that produces it. Direct communication between customers and companies is easier, more timely, more economical, and less risky. Innovation communication is an important part of a company’s innovation system; its control over time and cost is crucial for the company. Communication among employees, communication in marketing, and communication in public relations can all proceed smoothly in the virtual world. Specifically, communication among employees can assist the research and development process, communication in marketing helps build good relationships with customers, partners, and competitors, and communication in public relations can create a favorable social environment for the company.

本文站在企业的角度强调了虚拟世界交流在日常运营中发挥的重要作用。作者列举招聘会、员工会议、展销会、网络学习、科学实验测试等多种可以通过虚拟化身来参与的活动，认为虚拟世界的交流有助于节约差旅费和时间，且不受时间和空间的限制，虚拟化身的匿名性质也有利于获得更真实有效的反馈。许多企业通过在虚拟世界中搭建的交流平台收获了人气，塑造了公司形象，并因此获得了更广泛的媒体影响力。企业可以通过“创新交流”来实现交往和互动。“创新交流”能够创造一个共同的社会实践，网络虚拟游戏就是一个成功的案例。虚拟世界的交流方式能够替代现实世界中时间和成本都很高昂的交流方式，并通过多感官体验形象化地展示新产品或服务的独特用途、功效和意义。虚拟现实能够真实地模拟这些新产品，使感兴趣的客户有机会通过虚拟化身亲自体验产品，并且同生产该产品的公司进行直接对话。客户与公司之间直接交流更加轻松、更加及时、更加经济，风险也更小。创新交流是公司创新系统的重要一环，它对时间和成本的控制对公司来说至关重要。员工之间的交流、市场营销之间的交流和公共关系之间的交流都可以在虚拟世界顺畅地进行。具体而言，员工之间的交流可以为研发过程提供帮助，市场营销之间的交流有助于同客户、合作伙伴和竞争对手建立良好的关系，公共关系之间的交流可以为公司营造一个良好的社会环境。

Gaia Moretti and Eliane Schlemmer, “Virtual Learning Communities of Practice in Metaverse”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura (eds.), *Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms*, 2012.

加亚·莫雷蒂、埃利亚内·施莱默：《元宇宙中的虚拟学习实践共同体》（Gaia Moretti and Eliane Schlemmer, “Virtual Learning Communities of Practice in Metaverse”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura(eds.), Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms,2012）

This article argues that digital virtual space has altered the traditional definition and structure of communities. The authors primarily study the virtual learning community (VLC) and the virtual community of practice (VCP). The authors point out that communication in a virtual learning community includes sharing knowledge, experience, ideas, and information, with community members collaboratively producing knowledge; communication in a virtual community of practice involves members sharing practical experience and working methods. The authors further define the virtual learning community of practice (VLCP), where interactive reading, discussion, and reflection among community members transform traditional methods of learning and practice. Therefore, a digital virtual environment can establish a real virtuality. From this perspective, metaverse technology has broad application prospects in the development of communities; that is, from the most traditional communities based on physical space to communities where all social activities are based on digital virtual space, metaverse technology can be used to achieve multiple interactive actions and exchanges. Digital space is populated by mutually interactive virtual objects and users, so it can be understood as a relational space. Since physical identity and digital identity can be mixed, people can achieve physical existence through their bodies and digital virtual existence through avatars, thereby living simultaneously in the real world and the virtual world. With the growth of the "digital native" generation, the concept of there being only one space, one community, one world, and one universe will cease to exist.

本文认为，数字虚拟空间改变了虚拟共同体的传统定义和结构。作者主要对虚拟学习共同体（virtual learning community, VLC）和虚拟实践共同体（virtual community of practice, VCP）进行了研究。作者指出，虚拟学习共同体的交流包括分享知识、经验、想法和信息，共同体成员在共同协作中生产知识；虚拟实践共同体的交流是共同体成员分享实践经验和工作方法。作者还进一步定义了虚拟学习实践共同体（virtual learning community of practice, VLCP），即共同体成员之间的阅读、讨论、反思互动改变了传统的学习、实践方式。因此，数字虚拟环境可以建立起一个真实的虚拟世界（real virtuality）。从这一点来看，元宇宙技术在共同体的发展中有着广泛的应用前景，也就是说，从最传统的基于物理空间的共同体，到所有的社会活动都基于数字虚拟空间的共同体，均可以利用元宇宙技术实现多重交互行动和交流。数字空间由相互之间可交互的虚拟的对象和用户填充，因此它可以被理解为一个关系性空间。由于物理身份与数字身份可以混用，人们既可以通过身体实现物理存在，也可以通过虚拟化身实现数字虚拟存在，从而同时生活在现实世界和虚拟世界。随着“数字原生代”的成长，只存在一个空间、一个共同体、一个世界、一个宇宙的观念将不复存在。

III. Discussion on the Relationship between the Virtual World and the Real World

三、关于虚拟世界与现实世界之间关系的讨论

Foreign scholars' discussions on the relationship between the virtual world and the real world are mainly divided into two schools: one school believes that the virtual world has unique laws, is entirely new, and differs from the real physical world; the other school believes that the virtual and the real are the same, advocating "augmentationism," i.e., the virtual world is an extension and supplement of the real world, and there is no clear boundary between the virtual and the real.

国外学者关于虚拟世界与现实世界之间关系的讨论主要分为两派：一派认为虚拟世界拥有独特的法则，是全新的，它不同于现实的物理世界；另一派认为虚拟与现实相同，主张“增强主义”，即虚拟世界是现实世界的延伸和补充，虚拟与现实之间并没有明晰的边界。

(1) Views Advocating the Divergence of Virtual Reality from Physical Reality

（一）主张虚拟现实与物理现实相背离的观点

Benjamin Gregor Aas, "What's Real? Presence, Personality and Identity in the Real and Online Virtual World," in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado, and Ana Boa-Ventura (eds.), *Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms*, 2012.

本杰明·格雷戈尔·奥斯：《什么是真实的？真实世界和虚拟世界的出场、人格和身份》（Benjamin Gregor Aas, “What’s Real? Presence, Personality and Identity in the Real and Online Virtual World”, in Nelson Zagalo, Leonel Morgado and Ana Boa-Ventura(eds.), Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms,2012）

By comparing the presence, personality, identity, and emotions of subjects in the real world and the virtual world, this article argues that there are essential differences between the real world and the virtual world. Unlike subjects in the real world, subjects in the virtual world primarily perceive the network environment and the real environment in entirely new ways, in response to the cognitive demands of the virtual world. The issue of presence is the foundation for discussing the virtual world. In an environment driven solely by digitalization and data, how can one experience existence in the virtual world? The author points out that existing research focuses on regulating the realism of presence in the virtual world, but in reality, presence in the real world and the virtual world exhibits significant differences. The construction and operation of virtual social and network worlds have changed real life, and the characteristics of the virtual world also influence perception and behavior in real life. Of course, due to the existence of regional parallax, the influence of the real world on the virtual world is not as pervasive as the penetration of the virtual world into the real world.

通过对比现实世界与虚拟世界中主体的出场、人格、身份和情感，本文认为现实世界与虚拟世界之间存在着本质的差异。与现实世界中的主体不同，虚拟世界中的主体主要是因应虚拟世界中的认知需求，以全新的方式感知网络环境与现实环境。出场问题是讨论虚拟世界的基础，在一个仅仅由数字化和数据驱动的环境中，如何体验到虚拟世界中的存在？作者指出，现有的研究都集中在调节虚拟世界存在的真实感上，但实际上，现实世界与虚拟世界中的出场具有极大的差异性。虚拟社交和网络世界的建构和运行方式改变了现实生活，虚拟世界的特性也会影响现实生活中的感知和行为方式。当然，由于区域性视差的存在，现实世界对虚拟世界的影响并不如虚拟世界对现实世界的穿透更普遍。

Michael Madary and Thomas K. Metzinger, "Real Virtuality: A Code of Ethical Conduct," *Frontiers in Robotics and AI*, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2016.

迈克尔·毛道里、托马斯·K.梅青格尔：《真实的虚拟世界：伦理行为的密码》（Michael Madary and Thomas K.Metzinger, “Real Virtuality: A Code of Ethical Conduct”, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Vol.3, No.3, 2016）

From the perspectives of psychology and philosophy, this article argues that the virtual world will change the structure of real life, bring about entirely new forms of social interaction, and reconstruct the relationship between the body and consciousness. The authors argue that the virtual reality created by virtual reality technology is deeply nested within another layer of virtual reality—human consciousness—which, after millions of years of evolution, is currently being technically codified as virtual reality. However, the brain has not lost its cognition of the boundary between reality and the virtual. The process of cognizing the virtual reality of the metaverse is not a mysterious process where the self leaves the body and enters a virtual avatar, but rather is more akin to the representation of the virtual avatar being embedded into the brain's self-consciousness, forming a new component of self-cognition, thereby creating a new configuration of human bodily functions involving the interaction of the virtual body and the physical body. The capture of the user's real body's self-motion processes by virtual reality technology creates an illusion of ownership over the virtual body: the user treats the virtual avatar as their own body while simultaneously believing they can control this virtual avatar. But in reality, the virtual avatar in virtual reality is indirect, and the control over the virtual avatar is also indirect, both of which rely on continuously commercialized technology, leading to the adverse consequence of users increasingly neglecting the physical body and physical environment. Although virtual reality expands non-corporeal interactive social interaction, it also neglects non-technologized human perception and technologically disadvantaged groups, easily exacerbating people's aversion to the physical environment.

从心理学和哲学的角度出发，本文认为虚拟世界将改变现实生活的结构，带来全新的社会交互形式，重构身体与意识之间的关系。作者认为，虚拟现实技术创造的虚拟现实深深地嵌套于另一层虚拟现实——人类意识——之中，人类意识经过数百万年的进化，目前正在被技术编纂为虚拟现实。但是，大脑并没有失去对现实与虚拟的边界的认知。对元宇宙的虚拟现实进行认知的过程不是一个自我脱离了躯体而进入虚拟化身的神秘进程，而更像是虚拟化身的表征嵌入大脑的自我意识之中，并构成自我认知的一个新的组件，从而形成一种虚拟身体与物理身体相互作用的、全新的人体功能配置。虚拟现实技术对用户真实身体的自我运动过程的捕捉，使用户对虚拟身体的所有权产生了错觉：用户会把虚拟化身当作自己的身体，同时认为自己可以操控这个虚拟化身。但实际上，虚拟现实中的虚拟化身是间接的，对虚拟化身的操控也是间接的，这些都依赖于不断被商业化的技术，这导致了用户日益忽视物理身体和物理环境的不良后果。尽管虚拟现实扩大了非实体性互动的社会交往，但也忽视了未被技术化的人类感知和技术弱势群体，容易加剧人们对物理环境的厌恶。

David van der Merwe, "The Metaverse as Virtual Heterotopia," 3rd World Conference on Research in Social Sciences, 2021.

戴维·范德·梅韦：《作为虚拟异托邦的元宇宙》（David van der Merwe, “The Metaverse as Virtual Heterotopia”,3rd World Conference on Research in Social Sciences, 2021）

By comparing the construction principles of the metaverse with Michel Foucault’s concept of “heterotopia,” this article argues that the metaverse is a virtual heterotopia realized in digital space. The author contends that in the metaverse, the value of information exchange far exceeds the value of the various financial and commercial services and transactions realized within it. Such a world, not subject to the regulation of any specific government and governed by rules and protocols established by users and owners, is a typical heterotopian construction. The metaverse is a platform built with virtual reality technology; therefore, it is not entirely Foucault’s “placeless place,” but rather “places outside places” and “spaces within spaces.” The metaverse enables the connection of global community sharing and meta-world portals without considering differences and separations in geographical location. The transitional function of blockchain technology makes the distributed network metaverse a user-centered and user-owned virtual community, where individual portals typically contain pathways to other, larger portals. This digital heterotopia achieves an inclusivity impossible in the physical world: spaces that are seemingly incompatible and unrelated can coexist within a shared space. The author believes that the development of the metaverse will lead humanity into a new era, where human real-world interactions are often entirely replaced by purely digital interactions.

通过比较元宇宙的建构原则与米歇尔·福柯（Michel Foucault）的“异托邦”概念，本文认为元宇宙是一个在数字空间实现的虚拟的异托邦。作者认为，在元宇宙中，信息交换的价值远远高于在其中得以实现的各类金融和商业服务以及交易的价值。这样一个不受特定政府监管、由用户和所有者建立的规则协议来规定的世界是一个典型的异托邦建构。元宇宙是由虚拟现实技术搭建的平台，因此它不完全是福柯所说的“无地之地”（a placless place），而是“域外之域”（places outside places）、“空中之空”（spaces within spaces）。元宇宙实现了全球社区共享与元世界门户的连接，而不需要考虑地理位置的差异和区隔。区块链技术的过渡功能使分布式网络的元宇宙成为一个以用户为中心并为用户所拥有的虚拟社区，单个门户通常包含着通往其他更大门户的途径。这种数字异托邦实现了物理世界无法实现的包容性：表面上不相容和不相关的空间可以在一个共享的空间中共存。作者相信，元宇宙的发展会导致人类进入一个新的时代，在那里，人类的现实互动往往完全被纯数字的互动所取代。

Janet H. Murray, “Virtual/Reality: How to Tell the Difference,” *Journal of Visual Culture*, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2020.

珍妮特·H.默里：《虚拟世界/现实世界：二者何以区分》（Janet H.Murray, “Virtual/Reality: How to Tell the Difference”, Journal of Visual Culture, Vol.19, No.1, 2020）

The author argues that virtual reality technology, like other media technologies (e.g., photography), will not eliminate the boundary between the virtual world and the real world. The author opposes viewing virtual reality technology as magic that creates a perfect illusory world, arguing that virtual reality technology is an emerging media technology that is no more deceptive in the sense of experience it creates than other technologies, just like the virtual spaces created by books, films, and games, within which humans reflect on themselves. The author contends that what helps humans obtain and maintain immersion in the virtual world is the perception of the boundary between reality and illusion. In an interactive environment, a “bridge” needs to be established, enabling humans to cross the boundary between reality and illusion. This bridge has a physical existence in the real world and an avatar-based existence in the virtual world, and virtual reality technology is bringing humanity into a “human-authored reality.” However, current virtual reality technology limits the sense of reality obtained in the virtual world. When technology develops and creates a trustworthy virtual world, people will be able to immerse themselves in wonderful imaginary worlds.

作者认为，虚拟现实技术与其他媒介技术（例如摄影技术）一样，不会消除虚拟世界与现实世界之间的界线。作者反对把虚拟现实技术视为创造完美虚幻世界的魔法，认为虚拟现实技术是一个新兴媒介技术，它并不比其他技术创造的体验感更具欺骗性，就像书籍、电影和游戏营造的虚拟空间一样，人类会在其中反思自身。作者认为，帮助人类获得和维持虚拟世界沉浸感的是对现实与幻象的边界的感知。在交互环境中，需要建立一个“桥梁”，从而使人类能够跨越现实与幻象的边界。这一桥梁在现实世界中有物理性的存在，在虚拟世界中有化身性的存在，而虚拟现实技术正在把人类带入一个“人造现实”（human-authored reality）之中。然而，当前的虚拟现实技术限制了虚拟世界中的现实获得感。当技术发展并创造出一个可被信赖的虚拟世界时，人们就能够沉浸在奇妙的想象世界中了。

(2) Perspectives Arguing that Virtual Reality and Physical Reality Constitute a Whole

（二）主张虚拟现实与物理现实是一个整体的观点

David J. Chalmers, *Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy*, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2022.

戴维·J.查默斯：《现实+：虚拟世界与哲学问题》（David J.Chalmers, Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy, New York: W.W.Norton & Company, 2022）

This book argues that virtual reality is real reality, an ontological equivalent of physical reality; it is not “reality-” but “reality+.” There are three reasons for this: first, virtual reality is not fantasy or fiction; what happens in the virtual world is what really happens, and objects in the virtual world are real objects; second, life in the virtual world is, in principle, as meaningful as life outside the virtual world; third, the world in which humans live might itself be a virtual world. On this basis, the author demonstrates that virtual and augmented consciousness is real consciousness. He argues that “real reality” has five criteria: existence, causal power, mind-independence, non-illusoriness, and genuineness. As long as these five criteria are met, the virtual world or simulated environment is real. From the perspective of philosophy of technology, the author interprets the “Cartesian problem” in the virtual world: how does a person know the reality around them? How can one confirm that the surrounding reality is not an illusion or a simulated environment? The answer lies in the fact that, whether humans are in physical reality or a simulated environment, the core is the interaction of a conscious being with an external world. Even if this external world is a simulated world, it does not mean it is not real reality. It is a potential reality, different from the single model of physical reality familiar to humans. The development of virtual reality technology and augmented reality technology will make the virtual world appear more like the real world, making the virtual world and the non-virtual world indistinguishable. As the Earth’s environment deteriorates, the virtual world will provide new habitats and new possibilities for humanity. Virtual reality is not a utopia for escaping reality, but a living environment in which humans can live. Virtual reality, like physical reality, has two sides, both beautiful and ugly. People who are subject to various limitations in physical reality—including the disabled and the oppressed—can find entirely new lives in virtual reality, but the virtual world cannot immediately solve these problems; it at least offers a possibility.

本书认为，虚拟现实是真实的现实，是本体论意义上物理现实的等价物，它不是“现实-”，而是“现实+”。其原因有三点：第一，虚拟现实不是幻想或虚构，虚拟世界发生的就是现实发生的，虚拟世界的物体就是现实的物体；第二，虚拟世界中的生活与虚拟世界之外的生活原则上一样有意义；第三，人类生活的世界可能就是一个虚拟世界。在此基础上，作者论证了虚拟和增强的意识是真实的意识。他认为，“真实的现实”有五个标准，即存在性、因果力、心智独立性、非虚幻性和真实性，只要满足这五个标准，虚拟世界或者模拟环境就是真实的。作者从技术哲学的视角解读了虚拟世界中的“笛卡尔问题”，即：人如何认识周围的现实？如何确证周围的现实不是幻觉或模拟环境？答案在于，无论人类是在物理现实中还是在模拟环境中，其核心都是有意识的生物与外部世界互动，即使这个外部世界是模拟世界，也不意味着它不是真实的现实。这是一种潜在的现实，不同于人类所熟知的物理现实的单一模式。虚拟现实技术和增强现实技术的发展将会使虚拟世界看上去更像现实世界，虚拟世界与非虚拟世界将变得无法区分。随着地球环境的恶化，虚拟世界将为人类提供新的居所和新的可能性。虚拟现实不是逃避现实的乌托邦，而是一个人类可以生活于其中的鲜活环境。虚拟现实与物理现实一样有其两面性，既有美好的一面，也有丑陋的一面。在物理现实中受到各种限制的人——包括残疾人和受压迫的人——都可以在虚拟现实中找到全新的生活，但是虚拟世界并不能立刻解决这些问题，它至少提供了一种可能性。

IV. Research on the Social Impact of the Application of Metaverse Technology

四、关于元宇宙的技术应用所产生的社会影响的研究

Foreign scholars believe that technology as a tool is not entirely neutral; it determines, to varying degrees, the way problems are expressed and solved in the metaverse. This determinism has both positive and negative aspects. Some scholars argue that more attention should be paid to the hidden negative impacts.

国外学者认为，作为技术的工具并非是完全中性的，它在不同程度上决定了元宇宙的问题表达方式和解决方式。这种决定性既有正面的，也有负面的。一些学者认为，对于隐藏的负面影响，要给予更多的关注。

Ben Egliston and Marcus Carter, “Critical Questions for Facebook’s Virtual Reality: Data, Power and the Metaverse,” *Internet Policy Review*, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2021.

本·埃格里斯顿、马库斯·卡特：《脸书的虚拟现实：数据、权力与元宇宙》（Ben Egliston and Marcus Carter, “Critical Questions for Facebook’s Virtual Reality: Data, Power and the Metaverse”, Internet Policy Review, Vol.10, No.4, 2021）

This article proposes that virtual reality represents an emerging class of spatial computing technology that relies on the acquisition and processing of user data and their environmental data by hardware and software devices. The attribution and use of data rights determine that this data-intensive form of technology inevitably has inherent interest biases and potential harms from data dissemination. The true vision of virtual reality is to construct and “sell” a vision that can attract both end-users and platform complements.

本文提出，虚拟现实代表了一类新兴的空间计算技术，它依赖于软硬件装置对用户自身数据及其环境数据的获取和处理。数据权利的归属和使用决定了这种数据密集型技术形式必然存在利益倾向，以及潜在的数据传播的危害。虚拟现实真正的愿景是构建并“销售”一个既能吸引终端用户又能吸引平台互补者的愿景。

Ben Egliston and Marcus Carter, “Oculus Imaginaries: The Promises and Perils of Facebook’s Virtual Reality,” *New Media & Society*, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2020.

本·埃格里斯顿、马库斯·卡特：《虚拟现实头戴设备制造商Oculus：脸书的虚拟现实的承诺和危险》（Ben Egliston and Marcus Carter, “Oculus Imaginaries: The Promises and Perils of Facebook’s Virtual Reality”, New Media & Society,Vol.24, No.1, 2020）

This article discusses the possible harms or inequalities that virtual reality technology brings to society. First, the platform’s possession and use of data infringes upon and damages users’ privacy and right to choice. Virtual reality technology is a medium that depends on data; it must capture and process a large amount of data about the user’s body. Moreover, virtual reality systems can locate users and combine virtual space with physical space. These data become the basis for platform owners to carry out targeted marketing and push advertisements to users. Second, the application of virtual reality devices in the workplace and the evaluation of individual work performance through data are highly likely to cause injustice to certain groups. Programs collect, through sensor data, movements of the head, hands, and eyes as well as physiological data, thereby establishing a quantitative evaluation and management system. This automated decision-making technology mechanism not only creates a “confusion” of human judgment and technological mediation but also gives rise to complex problems related to inequality in decision-making. Third, virtual reality sensors have exclusivity in their mode of “perception,” making it possible for them to have perception obstacles regarding disabled bodies, thus failing to effectively identify their characteristics or movements, leading to misjudgment. The authors believe that people have not formed effective prevention and governance mechanisms for the above problems.

本文讨论了虚拟现实技术给社会带来的可能危害或不平等：第一，平台对数据的占有和使用侵犯和损害了用户的隐私和选择权。虚拟现实技术是一种依赖于数据的媒介，它必须捕获和处理大量关于用户身体的数据。此外，虚拟现实系统可以对用户进行定位，并将虚拟空间与物理空间结合起来。这些数据会成为平台拥有者对用户进行定位营销以及广告推送的依据。第二，在工作场所应用虚拟现实设备、通过数据评估个体的工作表现极有可能造成对某些群体的不公。程序会通过传感数据收集包括头、手、眼睛的运动以及生理数据，从而建立量化评估和管理制度。这种自动决策技术机构不仅造成了人类判断力和技术中介的“混乱”，还造成了与决策不平等有关的复杂问题。第三，虚拟现实传感器在“感知”方式上存在排他性，使其有可能对残障身体出现感知障碍，从而不能有效地识别其特征或运动，以致产生误判。作者认为，人们并未对上述问题形成有效的预防和治理机制。

Dawn Owens, Alanah Mitchell, Deepak Khazanch and Ilze Zigurs, “An Empirical Investigation of Virtual World Projects and Metaverse Technology Capabilities,” *The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems*, Vol.42, No.1, 2011

道恩·欧文斯、阿拉娜·米切尔、迪帕克·哈赞奇和伊尔兹·齐格尔：《对虚拟世界项目和元宇宙技术能力的一个实证考察》Dawn Owens, Alanah Mitchell, Deepak Khazanch and Ilze Zigurs, “An Empirical Investigation of Virtual World Projects and Metaverse Technology Capabilities”,The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, Vol.42, No.1, 2011）

This article argues that the instant communication of virtual worlds supports instant feedback, diverse language, and multi-threaded communication, enabling interaction, movement, and face-to-face conversation through virtual avatars. Teams can use instant communication to improve work structure, process information, engage in social interaction, and build team community. The interactive technology of the metaverse will help develop the above functions; the three-dimensional virtual environment helps improve communication and collaboration, reducing the threat of team dispersion. Virtual avatars can help team members communicate face-to-face and better position their own roles in collaboration and communication. Furthermore, virtual worlds can also reduce cultural differences, making culture more convergent. Although on the surface, many team tasks are not suitable for being carried out in virtual worlds, visual plug-ins and three-dimensional virtual objects can still provide assistance to teams. The development of each technology in the metaverse signifies new opportunities for team collaboration. The interaction of virtual worlds and the new working environment they create are the true beneficial aspects of the metaverse.

本文认为，虚拟世界的即时交流支持即时反馈、多样化语言和多线程沟通，可以互动、移动以及通过虚拟化身来进行面对面的对话。团队可以通过即时交流来改善工作结构，处理信息，进行社交互动和建设团队社区。元宇宙的交互技术将帮助开发上述功能，三维虚拟环境有助于改善沟通和协作，减少团队离散的威胁。虚拟化身可以帮助团队成员进行面对面的沟通，并在协作与交流中更好地定位自身角色。此外，虚拟世界还可以减少文化差异，使文化更加趋同。尽管从表面上看，许多团队任务并不适合在虚拟世界中进行，但是视觉插件和三维虚拟物体仍然能够为团队提供帮助。元宇宙中每一项技术的发展都意味着团队协作的新机遇。虚拟世界的互动及其创造的全新的工作环境是元宇宙真正的有益之处。

Jin Kim, “Algorithmic Intimacy, Prosthetic Memory, and Gamification in Black Mirror,” *Journal of Popular Film and Television*, Vol.49, No.2, 2021

吉恩·金：《黑镜中的算法化亲密关系、人工记忆、游戏化》（Jin Kim, “Algorithmic Intimacy, Prosthetic Memory, and Gamification in Black Mirror”, Journal of Popular Film and Television, Vol.49, No.2, 2021）

Taking the quantitative characteristics of digital technology as a clue, this article reveals that digital technology’s domination over individuals is omnipresent and pervasive. The author argues that digital media and the ideological discourse behind it have a social normalization and even disciplinary effect on individuals. This function of technology is even more pronounced in virtual reality, as concentratedly manifested in the world depicted by the TV series *Black Mirror* in the following three aspects. The first is interpersonal relationships in a world where “algorithm comes first.” In a digital society, the algorithm has the characteristic of being prior, that is, the algorithm always precedes the user’s thoughts and ideas, and feeds the results back to the user through a real-time matching mechanism, thereby regulating the user’s specific behavior. By virtue of its prior characteristic, the algorithm achieves a panoptic control over society; it can incorporate any deviant behavior of the individual as a predictable variable into the overall operating system. In a society where algorithm comes first, people are powerless to make any action that changes reality. The second is overloaded digital memory. In a digital society, digital memory, through the authority endowed by its eternal persistence, establishes and strengthens the discursive hegemony of digital technology over the individual, infiltrating every field of individual life. The digital “gaze” is no longer coercive but necessary. This collusion of “digital-power” imposes the quantitative precision of the digital onto the individual and thereby deprives any possibility of resistance (such as forgetting). The last is the neoliberal subject in a gamified society. In a digital society, the subject caters to the expectations of neoliberalism, striving to present themselves as subjects of “aesthetic labor.” The process of presentation is also a process of being gazed upon; the algorithm strengthens the subject’s sense of being gazed upon. At the same time, the quantitative evaluation system constantly interpellates the subject, regulates the subject’s words and deeds, drives the subject to internalize the scoring criteria to complete self-gazing, and provides this gaze with the guarantee of formal rationality. This evaluation system and algorithmic power can be borrowed by power to achieve an all-round gaze and discipline over members of society.

本文以数字技术的量化特征为线索，揭示了数字技术对个体的支配具有无时不在和无孔不入的特征。作者认为，数字传媒及其背后体现的意识形态话语对个体起到了社会规范化甚至规训的效果。技术的这种功能在虚拟现实中更为明显，在电视剧《黑镜》所展示的世界中集中体现在以下三个方面：首先是“算法先行”世界中的人际关系。在数字社会，算法具有先行的特征，即算法总是先于使用者的所思、所想，并通过实时性匹配机制将结果反馈给使用者，进而调节使用者的具体行为。算法凭借其先行的特点实现了对社会的全景控制，它能够将个体的任何偏离行为作为可预测的变量纳入整体运作体系之中。在算法先行的社会，人们无力做出任何改变现实的行为。其次是过载的数字记忆。在数字社会，数字记忆借由其永恒持存所具有的权威确立并强化了数字技术凌驾于个体之上的话语霸权，渗入了个体生活的每一个领域。数字的“凝视”不再是强迫的，而是必要的。这种“数字—权力”的合谋将数字的量化精确性强加于个体，并据此剥夺了任何反抗（例如遗忘）的可能。最后是游戏化社会中的新自由主义主体。在数字社会，主体迎合新自由主义的期许，努力将自己展示为“审美型劳动”的主体。展示的过程也是凝视的过程，算法强化了主体的被凝视感。同时，量化评价体系不断唤询着主体，规范着主体的言行，驱使主体将评分准则内化而完成自我凝视，并为这种凝视赋予形式合理化的保障。这种评价体系和算法力量可以被权力借用，以实现对社会成员的全方位凝视和规训。

(Authors: Wu Jing, Deng Yulong, Department of Philosophy, Nanjing Normal University)

（作者：吴静、邓玉龙，南京师范大学哲学系）

Online Editor: Tongxin

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