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Metaverse technologies can foster an inclusive society

Nature Human Behaviour volume 8, pages 1827–1828 (2024)Cite this article

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Early into the COVID-19 pandemic human activities were severely restricted for several months. Because physical face-to-face interactions were limited, virtual online interactions became the norm in a remarkably short period of time. Since then, people worldwide have embraced a society in which meetings can occur anytime without geographical constraints through online video calls, and in environments that support natural human activities, such as virtual reality spaces (including the metaverse).

This expansion of geographically unconstrained online social interactions has created opportunities for social participation among those who cannot leave their homes owing to illness or disability1. Thanks to improved virtual communication systems, people can now work with fewer limitations imposed by location, time and language. Video conferences enable participation with desired avatars, and collaborative meetings in virtual reality spaces are emerging. Human society has an unprecedented opportunity to facilitate participation from previously marginalized groups, such as disabled individuals providing services in cafes through robots2,3.

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  1. Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

    Daisuke Sakamoto & Tetsuo Ono

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  1. Daisuke Sakamoto
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  2. Tetsuo Ono
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Correspondence to Tetsuo Ono.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Sakamoto, D., Ono, T. Metaverse technologies can foster an inclusive society. Nat Hum Behav 8, 1827–1828 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01987-5

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