A4 Article in conference proceedings
The Perception of Smart Contracts for Governance of the Metaverse (2022)


Oppenländer, J. (2022). The Perception of Smart Contracts for Governance of the Metaverse. In Academic Mindtrek 2022 : Proceedings of the 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference (pp. 1-8). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3569219.3569300


JYU authors or editors


Publication details

All authors or editorsOppenländer, Jonas

Parent publicationAcademic Mindtrek 2022 : Proceedings of the 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference

Place and date of conferenceTampere, Finland16.-18.11.2022

eISBN978-1-4503-9955-5

Publication year2022

Publication date16/11/2022

Pages range1-8

PublisherACM

Place of PublicationNew York

Publication countryUnited States

Publication languageEnglish

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1145/3569219.3569300

Publication open accessOpenly available

Publication channel open accessPartially open access channel


Abstract

Smart contracts are a method for implementing direct democracy in virtual worlds. However, it is not clear whether voting preferences in the virtual world will mirror real-world voting preferences. We present a within-subject study in which participants were asked to allocate voting power in two scenarios. The first scenario probed participants’ opinion about the divisibility of voting rights. The second scenario presented participants with the case of unequal allocation of voting power in a virtual world, enforced by smart contracts. In both scenarios, participants allocated voting power and rated the fairness of their decision. Our study finds that participants’ voting preferences in the virtual world scenario did not mirror their real-world preferences and beliefs. Voting systems in the metaverse need to be carefully designed to align with human values and ethics.


Keywordsvirtual worldparticipationdecision makingdirect democracyelectoral systemsagreements

Free keywordsmetaverse; smart contracts; digital democracy; democratic DAO; participatory decision-making; virtual worlds software; empirical studies; collaborative and social computing systems and tools


Contributing organizations


Ministry reportingYes

VIRTA submission year2022

JUFO rating1


Last updated on 2024-12-10 at 14:45