Meta Announced A New Feature To Address Creepy Experiences In Virtual Reality

While the metaverse is still at an experimental stage, attempts to create virtual worlds are already facing a long-standing problem: harassment. Bloomberg’s technology writer Parmy Olson shared on BBC’s Tech Tent about her own “creepy” experiences. And a woman likened her shocking experience in VR to sexual abuse. 

Meta has announced a new feature dubbed the Personal Boundary. The update prevents avatars from coming within a specific distance of each other. It creates more personal space for users, making it easier to avoid creepy interactions. 

“Meta said it stops others from invading your avatar’s personal space. If someone attempts to enter your Boundary, the system will prevent them from moving closer as they reach the boundary.”

The new feature is available in Meta’s Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues software.

The company said it was a “powerful example of how VR is likely to help people interact comfortably.” But they admitted there was more work to be done.

Ms. Olson describes her interactions in virtual reality. According to her, she had some moments when it was awkward for her as a woman. 

She visited Horizon Worlds, Meta’s VR platform, where anyone over 18 can create an avatar and hang out. 

To activate the feature, users need one of Meta’s VR headsets. Then, the space provides the chance to play games and chat with other avatars, none of whom has legs.

Ms. Olson shared that she could see straight away that she was the only female avatar. “And I visualized these men sort of coming around me and stared at me,” she said. 

It doesn’t stop me from staring. The guy avatars started taking pictures of me and giving the images to me. I was taken aback when a guy zoomed up to me and said something, Ms. Olson added. 

What’s creepier is that, in VR, if someone is close to you, the voice sounds like someone is talking into your ear. 

“I was chatting to another lady, and within minutes of us talking, a guy came up and joined your conversation. He started following us around saying inappropriate things, and we had to block him,” she said.

Ms. Olson said she wouldn’t describe it as harassment, but it was really “creepy and awkward.”

This week, Nina Jane Patel went a lot further when she told the Daily Mail that she was abused in Horizon Venues, comparing it to sexual harassment. 

Meta responded and apologized.

“We want users to have a positive experience and will continue to look for the safety tools that can help in this situation. That would also help us investigate and take action.”

Moderating content in the emerging metaverse will be challenging. Andrew Bosworth said that it would provide both opportunities and threats.

Mr. Bosworth questioned whether people would want the kind of moderation on platforms such as Facebook when having chats in virtual reality. Privacy will be a massive issue in this new feature. Meta’s vision of the metaverse, where different companies run different rooms, the results get more complex as people leave the Meta-controlled virtual world into others.

Both privacy and the integrity of that conversation remain unsure, Mr. Bosworth said.

Ms. Olson agreed that it would be very challenging for Facebook, Microsoft, and others. 

“Scanning text for hate speech is challenging but doable – you can use machine-learning algorithms, ” Ms. Olson added.

Facebook is investing $10 billion in its metaverse projects. A chunk of that will need to establish new ways of moderating content.

For other stories, read more here at Owner’s Mag!