Global Business Forum looks to future in virtual economy

A vision of the future where humanity has settled into a digital world of the metaverse was presented at the Global Business Forum on Wednesday, at the Ambassador Seoul hotel.

At the forum, Philippines Ambassador to South Korea Maria Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega stressed the Philippines’ efforts to prosper in Industry 4.0, which includes virtual and augmented reality, in her welcome remarks.

“It is important to embrace the unprecedented convergence of biological, physical and digital world,” she said.

Professor An Yu-hua said the metaverse is increasingly becoming a place for exchanging social and economic values and will develop into a main stage for business activities as it provides experiences transcending limits of time and space.

An has been a professor specializing in Chinese financial markets at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul since 2016.

An forecast that blockchain technology would convey the ownership of assets, the prime factor of economic activities, into the metaverse, while better public access to artificial intelligence technology would enable more everyday activities to be done in the virtual world.

“States and firms need to seek to guarantee their virtual product’s value so the participants of the virtual economy can use them as means for transactions, just like bitcoin,” she said.

The GBF, organized by The Korea Herald is an association of a experts in a wide range of fields, including business leaders, scholars, diplomats and celebrities, aiming at providing comprehensive views of industrial changes.

The third edition of the GBF, which began on Feb. 15, runs through May 17, with 13 total sessions.