Labour Law: New Workplaces in the Metaverse and Opportunities for Cultural and Heritage Professions

Abstract

The authoress will analyse the impact that the metaverse has and will have on the labour market, with a focus on the employment relationship, in the scenario of transitional (labour) markets that face several issues closely related to technology and digital. Microsoft's investment of nearly $70 billion in 2022 on the metaverse, along with investments by Google and Epic Games and large groups such as Gucci, Nike and Walmart - to name a few - represent the tip of the iceberg of a process that is already well underway and in which we are all involved. On the one hand, the interaction of different elements of cyberspace – used to generate immersive experiences in augmented reality through the combination of physical and digital aspects of life, three-dimensional technology, the Internet of Things, and personal avatars – may represent a form of welfare. On the other hand, the legal issues are different both with respect to aspects that are more typical of digital/technology platform property law (to give an immediate example) and with respect to the issue of blockchain-supported platforms and the impact of the metaverse on the "workplace," which we are specifically interested in. It is necessary to delve into the different issues that arise in the Italian legal system. Such issues include both the status of the worker with the applicable discipline (whether framed under the discipline of transnational posting or falling under the discipline of the relationship with elements of internationality set forth in the Regulation (ec) no 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 of the Rome Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I)) and labour control. Moreover, issues related to the protections provided in the Italian Workers' Statute (Statuto dei Lavoratori), not excluding psychosocial risks, must also be investigated. Another issue to focus on is contractual distancing. The status of the worker in the Metaverse is that of one who sits at a virtual desk in front of a virtual keyboard and screen for completely virtual work performance. Likewise, effects of social dumping arise in light of a possible labour crowdsourcing problem in Countries where labour costs are low. On the labour front, the questions that will arise are: what employment regulations and contracts will have to be applied to such professional activities? And what kind of new job profiles will emerge? Lastly, ethical questions also surface regarding the system of rules as well as the algorithms that will have to administer the labour market in a scenario in which human and artificial intelligence will have to coexist and contaminate each other. Further enquiry will be presented on the need to manage human capital and its strictly related impact on human resources to avoid social inequalities and discrimination. Finally, the impact on new job profiles and opportunities for cultural and heritage professions will be analysed. Keywords: Labour law; Labour market; Metaverse; Health & safety; Heritage professions.