Major technology companies are investing significant sums of money in the creation of the metaverse whose main feature will be the fusion between the virtual world and the physical world. To allow this possibility is one of the less obvious features of the metaverse: the metaverse works like our minds. This ability makes the metaverse a significantly different technology from its predecessors. If television and social media are persuasive technologies, because of their ability to influence people's attitudes and behaviors, the metaverse is instead a transformative technology, capable of modifying what people think reality is. To achieve this goal, the technologies of the metaverse hack different key cognitive mechanisms: the experience of being in a place and in a body, the processes of brain-to-brain attunement and synchrony, and the ability of experiencing and inducing emotions. Clearly, these possibilities define totally new scenarios with positive and negative outcomes. Educating ourselves as to its promise, and the challenges it may present, is a necessity. This requires a “humane,” integrated, and multidisciplinary approach, with stakeholders at the supranational level joining in the conversation.

中文翻译：

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元宇宙是什么（真的）以及为什么我们需要了解它

大型科技公司正在投入大量资金来创建虚拟世界，其主要特征将是虚拟世界和物理世界之间的融合。允许这种可能性是元节不太明显的特征之一：元节就像我们的大脑一样工作。这种能力使元宇宙成为与其前身截然不同的技术。如果电视和社交媒体是有说服力的技术，因为它们能够影响人们的态度和行为，那么元宇宙反而是一种变革性的技术，能够改变人们对现实的看法。为了实现这一目标，元宇宙的技术破解了不同的关键认知机制：在一个地方和一个身体中的体验，脑对脑协调和同步的过程，以及体验和诱发情绪的能力。显然，这些可能性定义了具有正面和负面结果的全新场景。教育我们自己了解它的承诺以及它可能带来的挑战是必要的。这需要一种“人道的”、综合的和多学科的方法，让超国家层面的利益相关者参与对话。