Written by Leonora, Year 10
Earlier this month, I was given an opportunity to take part in a research project on the Metaverse (otherwise known as Web 3.0) at the House of Lords in London.
There were seventeen students involved, the others all from London. It was a diverse group of all genders and ethnic backgrounds, though we were all between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. It was run by parliament members, including Baroness Uddin, who greeted us upon arrival.
After going through security, we were first given a short demonstration of the Metaverse; what is it, where it came from, what it could be used for. On paper, it is a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. However, we also learnt it can be moulded to the limits of human imagination. It can be a world for entertainment, learning and collaboration. We saw worlds, from simulations of the Cannes Film Festival to virtual reality scenarios for junior doctors to learn how to deal with patients.
We then participated in a long panel discussion, run by parliamentary officials. We discussed three main points: the Digital Divide, Discrimination and Dangers and how to regulate and improve each issue. The conversation was recorded, so that the members of the House of Lords could use our quotes and ideas to compose the next white paper, which is the original draft of an official law.
Soon after, we were toured around the House of Lords, seeing the King’s entrance and statues of Victoria, as well as many portraits of past Lords and rulers of England. We were also allowed to sit in on a parliamentary discussion in the hall in which an issue to do with a law about ownership of property was being debated. We were then presented with a talk from Goldsmith University on artificial intelligence and the work being done to develop it.
I learned a great deal about this country and how the government operates. The program in which I took part in is known as the APPG Youth and the group of seventeen there that day (including myself) were the first young people to ever participate. It was an amazing day and I’m extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity and fully intend to continue in this program.