The Metaverse Diplomacy: A Future Vision for Turkiye.

• Author: Akilli, Erman

Introduction

In April 2022, the former CEO of Reddit, Yishan Wong, tweeted, "The internet is not a "frontier" where people can go "to be free," it's where the entire world is now, and every culture war is being fought on it. It's the MAIN battlefield for our culture wars." (1) Wong's remarks call attention to the importance and ever-changing nature of the Internet itself. From Web 1.0 to Web 4.0, many things have already changed in Internet usage. As Wong notes, the platform was once the space for freedom of speech; now it is a battlefield for exporting culture. Thanks to the uploads of some major cities, the culture wars have expanded their frontiers into the Metaverse. Seoul, South Korea, for example, enjoys a leading position in the race to become digital; as a result, people can virtually visit the uploaded 'Metaverse Soeul'--even 'live' there virtually, make purchases, and fall in love with Korean culture. Hallyu, the Korean Wave, is preparing to surpass millions digitally in sales volumes driven by Metaverse-enabled content.

Web 3.0 is seen as the next step of globalization, and the global, digital transformation process has only accelerated with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on this accelerated transformation process, the blockchain system could gain ground with the increasing prevalence of cryptocurrencies and their growing worldwide transaction volume. Many countries, from Estonia to El Salvador, have already recognized cryptocurrencies as official currencies. (2) The claim that Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are a new digital property model based on the blockchain system has also emerged. As the evolving space in which digital transformation is taking shape, the Metaverse has become one of the hottest topics on the global agenda.

The Metaverse concept was first coined in the science fiction novel Snow Crasher by Neal Stephenson in 1992. Stephenson describes the Metaverse as a computer-generated universe in which people interact as pieces of software called 'avatars,' the audiovisual 'bodies' that people use to communicate and interact with each other. (3) The Metaverse was advanced as a concept in Ernest Cline's science fiction novel Ready Player One, which was subsequently popularized as a hit movie. (4)

Metaverse, from 'Meta-' (a prefix meaning post, after or beyond) plus Universe, is defined as "A virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users." (5) As the definition implies, the Metaverse requires a computer-based environment and internet access. In practice, however, the Metaverse is more than a space of interaction between users: it is a post-reality universe. (6)

In 2021, the Metaverse became a hot topic more widely, i.e., beyond the realm of science fiction, due to the social media giant company Facebook's branding transformation. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks CEO, announced in October 2021, that the company's name would be changed from Facebook to Meta Platforms. (7) He then made an audio-visual presentation that revealed the potential of the Metaverse, which was undoubtedly influential in the Metaverse's sudden appearance on the world agenda. Zuckerberg's presentation drew the attention of academics and social media users alike and resulted in a spike in academic articles on the Metaverse. (8)

The historical transformation of Facebook--one of the most popular social media platforms globally--represents a turning point for the future of other social media platforms. As Zuckerberg presented in his announcement showcase, the anticipated Metaverse will be a realistic society in terms of enabling more direct and tactile contact; yet it will be a fantasy/imagination space as well: users will have almost infinite options in choosing the characteristics of their avatar, with race, gender, height and weight adjustable, and physical limitations and disabilities removed from the equation. Metaverse development is still in its early stages, with much room for growth. The industry has already begun to prepare for Metaverse's enormous potential, supported by frenzied investment, yet there are at present few talks about the Metaverse in academia to lead its development scientifically or geopolitically. For instance, there has been scarcely any academic study that explains what the Metaverse promises for the future of International Relations (IR). And almost no academic article has tackled Turkiye's Metaverse future regarding the Organization of the Turkic States (OTS).

So, the question is what might International Relations look like in the Metaverse? Barbados' initiative to open embassies in the Metaverse enabled diplomacy to be conducted thereby introducing the presence of the state. Such a presence in the Metaverse brings up many questions for states, such as the sovereignty dilemma. One of the distinguishing features of statehood is territory; how can states control the purchase of NFT properties and access them in Metaverse universes? Relatedly, do existing collaborations or digitally signed agreements only pertain to the virtual plane, or do they include the physical world? What international laws would the Metaverse necessitate?

One of the critical questions for the future of the Metaverse in terms of IR is whether it will be a global, unified Metaverse universe or multiple, company, or country based. If the Metaverse is dominated by private companies--without states' intervention in its structure--it will eventually be reigned by chaos. For instance, currently, in some Metaverse universes, there are history tours, (9) in which you can visit historical events with your avatar. The question is, "who" is orchestrating such events? Because it's open to being a target for spreading disinformation or blaming some nation with false accusations. This example is just the tip of the iceberg if there is no state intervention scenario happens in the Metaverse. A better alternative would be Metaverse universes, which will be built based on regional integrations rather than monopolization; these gain value in the future for the healthy operation of the Metaverse.

Many questions are yet to be answered for the future of the Metaverse. The present study is intended to be an introduction to the Metaverse through the lens of International Relations. Thus, it aims to shed light on the Metaverse's potentials and risks for states, explore what Metaverse-enabled diplomacy might look like for states, and, most importantly, consider what Turkiye can do in regard to the development of a Metaverse presence as the incumbent leader of the OTS. The potential technologies to be developed in the Metaverse field are reviewed in the study, and a roadmap called 'the Turkoverse' is proposed for the OTS. Turkoverse, which will be a unique Metaverse universe built within the OTS to be based on Turkic World geography with the participation of the member states. If developed, the Turkoverse would have the potential to provide solid ground for economic development, technology transfers, and educational and technological transformation for the OTS member states. As mentioned above, Metaverse universes, which will be built based on international organizations or regional integrations rather than monopolization, will gain value in the future for the healthy operation of the Metaverse.

As mentioned above, if companies solely run Metaverse universes, it will eventually create monopolization. For instance, in the Metaverse, users become a digital identity through an avatar, and thanks to that digital identity in Metaverse, they can work, travel, purchase/sell, and earn money. Nevertheless, to do so, they must accept the proposed terms and conditions. Without states' existence in the Metaverse, the million-dollar question is, who will put the rules or regulations for those terms and conditions? Companies running the Metaverse will decide and act for the rules, and each company will eventually want to maximize its interest in its business. Imagine a scenario; a user work at a firm in this hypothetical company's Metaverse, and the next day, that company announces that they will raise taxes to 100 percent for salaries. Alternatively, the company decided to sell personal information to third parties, or a security breach happened. For instance, virtual reality headsets might hypothetically allow third parties to collect more sensitive personal data, including voiceprint data, biometric data, and even facial geometry. Or if they copy digital identities and make them work like digital non-stop workers? Questions may sound futuristic, but no more than thirty years ago, Siri (Apple's AI for the products such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers) like AI programs could only be imagined in sci-fi movies. As Antigone Davis, Global Head of Safety at Meta said: "In order to address safety in a comprehensive way as the Metaverse emerges, we need to partner with others in government, industry, academia, and civil society." (10) It is essential to set the ground rules for the structure of the Metaverse in general because as Gartner predicts 25 percent of the World population will spend at least one hour per day in the Metaverse and 30 percent of the organizations in the world will have products and services ready for the Metaverse by 2026. (11)

Metaverse 101: What Is It?

More than a concept, the Metaverse vision has recently attracted much attention and is considered the next stage of the Internet together with Web 3.0. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated states' digital transformation within the international system. Within the ecosystem made possible by this transformation, the Metaverse was able to flourish as a vision and its impact on diplomacy remains to be seen. But before going further, it is essential to clarify the concept: What is the Metaverse?

First and foremost, there is no single, unified Metaverse yet. At present, the Metaverse can be summed up as a...