In the digital twin of the real world, one can already purchase virtual properties and even artworks. These Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have quickly become quite lucrative investments (source<\/a>, 22.09.2022). However, there are not only monetary interests in the Metaverse. Many advocate that the Metaverse, similar to the internet, should be freely accessible to everyone and not controlled by a single company. An approach to implementation can already be found in Decentraland<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let's imagine: We have just moved, and our new apartment is still full of boxes that we need to unpack. Before we get to work, we want to quickly register our new address. For this, we put on the VR headset and enter the Metaverse with the digital town hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We go to the citizen's office and sit down at an available service desk. Then we are asked to show our ID. Here, the beautiful virtual world comes to an end for the time being, as we cannot simply reach into our wallet and pull out our ID, at least not yet. Therefore, an alternative method of authenticating ourselves with the authority is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We could try to create a digital representation of our ID, similar to a digital currency, based on blockchain technology. However, this would bring a significant problem: we would have two IDs, one digital and one physical. With blockchain technology, we would always have to remember to transfer the ID whenever we change computers. If the hard drive in the computer fails, the ID is also lost. Additionally, there is a risk of identity theft if we sell the computer and do not properly wipe the hard drive beforehand. In that case, the digital ID would end up in the hands of the buyer and could be used freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be much better to equip the physical ID with additional capabilities. If we authenticated ourselves once when entering the virtual town hall, we would no longer need to show the ID at the service desk. This could be implemented using OAuth2, as I have already mentioned in another post. The official could then retrieve the information about us, but only what is actually needed (see eID: A suggestion for improvement<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of an application or procedure, there is usually a signature. One might think that a digital representation of the real signature in VR using the controllers should be quite simple, but unfortunately, that is not the case. A handwritten signature in the virtual world is equivalent to a simple electronic signature, comparable to inserting a scanned signature in a PDF editor. However, this has no legal validity and therefore cannot be used as a signature on applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In total, there are three levels of electronic signatures: the simple signature, where it cannot be verified who made the signature (anyone could insert the image), the advanced electronic signature (AES), and the qualified electronic signature (QES). Both the AES and the QES use encryption methods to ensure the authenticity of the signer. However, only the QES is legally secure and is equivalent to a handwritten signature on paper (source<\/a>, 24.09.22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The process behind the AES and QES is called asymmetric encryption. In this case, there is a private key and a public key. The private key is held by the signer, while the public key is provided with the document (so that anyone can open it). The document is signed with the private key, meaning it is encrypted and can only be decrypted with the corresponding public key. If the document is encrypted with the public key, it cannot be opened. This ensures that the document was signed with a specific key. This is the process behind the AES. However, anyone can generate their own key pair, which makes it impossible to verify that the correct person signed. Therefore, in the case of QES, the keys are issued by trust service providers after prior authentication and can be verified against their databases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to current legal regulations, it would also be necessary to provide a QES in the Metaverse when submitting certain applications. However, such a signature, just like the ID data, could be linked to the virtual avatar, making it easy to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, the question arises as to why we even need a virtual representation of the administration in the Metaverse. In fact, there is a lack of meaningful use cases where the Metaverse offers a real advantage over online forms. Filling out forms is currently much easier on a PC or mobile device than with a VR headset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are some meaningful application areas, especially in the construction sector. If one wants to remodel, expand, or build a house, a so-called neighbor hearing takes place. This means that the owners of the neighboring property are informed about the construction project and can express their concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the current time, the plans are handed out in only two dimensions. In VR, one could model the construction projects and then view them as if standing right in front of them. The same applies to the planning of road construction sites: here, it could be checked in advance in VR whether strollers, bicycles, and cars have enough space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, this takes us away from the idea of being able to visit a citizen's office in the Metaverse. In fact, with these use cases, we are no longer in the Metaverse at all, but rather in specific VR applications. Companies are still looking for meaningful use cases for the Metaverse, aside from meetings. Therefore, it will be interesting to observe how this topic develops further.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What could visits to government offices in the Metaverse look like? Currently, this question may still sound very much like science fiction, but it could eventually become a reality. After all, even the Austrian Post is venturing into this new territory. On September 8th, I had the opportunity to speak at the X-Talk about this topic and would like to elaborate on it further. Read More »A visit to the citizen's office in the Metaverse<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19614"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19625,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19614\/revisions\/19625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericfischer.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How can a visit to a government office in VR even work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is all this for?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n