The pandemic caused by COVID-19 triggered a global digital transformation process. To enhance this digital transformation process, it has been necessary to develop different products and technologies. These include Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the Metaverse. The first two technologies are already well established in various dimensions of social life. However, the Metaverse remains a question mark to be resolved in the coming years.
The Metaverse could be defined as the development of a computer-created virtual reality that can be accessed through different electronic devices. In this virtual reality, humans, through their avatars, will be able to interact in a similar way as they do in the real world, satisfying their needs.
Based on Maslow's motivational theory, which is used as a way of ranking human needs, Metaverse users will be able to satisfy the more complex needs related to affiliation, recognition and even self-fulfilment, but at lower levels, they will be able to satisfy the more basic needs related to health, environmental protection and economy.
From a deterministic perspective, the technological developments to be implemented in the 21st century, such as the Metaverse, must promote the principles related to sustainability and the circular economy: reuse, conservation and recycling. Given this scenario of transformation of the 21st century as a result of the future global expansion of the Metaverse, this section of the conference accepts papers that analyse the change that the Metaverse may cause in human needs, as well as the impact and consequences that its technological development may cause, in terms of sustainability and economy.
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