Racism could ruin the metaverse if tech doesn’t improve diversity now, CTO warns: ‘It absolutely is a problem’

The tech industry’s disappointing track record on issues of diversity could have serious consequences when the metaverse comes along.

For years, tens of millions of people of color have endured unwelcome experiences on social media platforms built by mostly white and male tech CEOS, including harassment and hate speech. Many users have also had their contributions regularly ignored or copied without attribution.

If those issues follow users into the metaverse, a concept championed largely by those same mostly white and male tech CEOs, today’s online abuse could become significantly more visceral and damaging.

“When you don’t have people at the table who have historically suffered harms or abuses, or who have to live with certain things in the back of their mind, then you don’t build platforms in a way that protects those people,” says Jeff Nelson, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Blavity, an online media company geared toward Black millennial creators. “You build platforms that can be used by people who want to extend harm to others, [and can] do so at scale.”

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