Agenda

10:00 AM

Registration Opens

10:30 AM

Welcome Remarks

  • Daniel Castro (ITIF)

10:35 AM

Keynote Speaker - Senator Todd Young (R-IN)

10:50 AM

Panel #1: Global Competition, Free Trade, and Democratic Values in the Metaverse

As more countries invest in immersive technologies and develop regulatory frameworks for the metaverse, will they move towards global cooperation or turn towards protectionism? How should the United States work with its allies to promote democratic values and access to foreign markets in the metaverse? And what role will regulation play in shaping the development of the immersive technology ecosystem?

Speakers:

  • Susan Aaronson (George Washington University)

  • Jennifer Bachus (U.S. Department of State)

  • Joe Wang (Special Competitive Studies Project)

  • Joan O’Hara (XR Association) - Moderator

11:30 AM

Panel #2: Assessing the Impact of Recent Privacy Legislation on the Metaverse

In recent years, there have been multiple laws and proposals aimed at regulating social media that could potentially impact the development of the metaverse. These laws and proposals cover a broad range of topics, from data privacy and biometrics, to age-appropriate design. How will the implementation of age-appropriate design laws look in metaverse platforms? How will developers adapt to the increasing amount of state privacy laws? How should policymakers address the concerns about the collection of biometric data and its inferred data?

Speakers:

  • Jennifer Huddleston (Cato Institute)

  • Jadzia Pierce (Microsoft)

  • Jules Polonetsky (Future of Privacy Forum)

  • Derek Robertson (Politico Magazine) - Moderator

12:10 PM

Lightening Talk #1: Beyond Screens: How Haptics Transform AR/VR Experiences

  • Bob Crockett (HaptX)

12:25 - 1:25 PM

Lunch Break 

Network with colleagues in the field and visit the AR/VR Demo room, featuring demos by Meta, Hope for Haiti, HTC, Great Lakes Reality, and more!

1:25 PM

Fireside Chat with Google

  • Kareem Ghanem (Google)

  • Daniel Castro (ITIF) - Moderator

1:45 PM

Panel #3: How Immersive Technologies Will Shape the Future of Work

Immersive technology has the potential to transform the way people work and learn, but companies can face various challenges that prevent them from using the technology. For example, AR/VR technologies have already shown promising results as a tool for workforce development in terms of safety, cost-efficiency, and knowledge retention, but a lack of awareness, insufficient enterprise solutions, and poor ergonomics holds back adoption. How are companies navigating these barriers and what policies and initiatives should be implemented to ensure that the American workforce is prepared for the future of work?

Speakers:

  • Geoff Crawford (Vehicles for Change)

  • Kelly Middleton (NAWB)

  • Dan Risko (Transfr Inc.)

  • Juan Londoño (ITIF) - Moderator

2:25 PM

Panel #4: Back to School in the Metaverse

As AR/VR technology becomes a valuable tool for educational purposes, developers and educators should make sure these technologies are designed with young people in mind. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle have regularly called for making technology appropriate for young people to use, making safety a priority in the implementation of immersive learning programs. What are the unique benefits of immersive learning in comparison to other technologies (e.g., mobile and personal computing)? What are the special accommodations that educators should take in mind when deploying AR/VR tech in the classroom? How can policymakers ensure that immersive learning programs don’t widen the digital divide?

Speakers:

  • Brooke Morrill (Schell Games)

  • Muhsinah Morris (Morehouse College)

  • Monya A. Ruffin (NSF)

  • Medha Tare (Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Sesame Workshop)

  • Stephanie Montgomery (XR Association) - Moderator

3:05 PM

Break

3:15 PM

Keynote Speaker - Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)

3:30 PM

Lightening Talk #2: Using Digital Twins to Innovate in Federal Agencies

  • Dan McConnell (Booz Allen Hamilton)

3:45 PM

Fireside Chat with Meta

  • Rob Sherman (Meta)

  • Liz Hyman (XR Association) - Moderator

4:05 PM

Panel #5: Using Generative AI to Build the Metaverse

From AI chatbots to self-generating virtual worlds, artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to generate exciting new content and dynamic immersive experiences in the metaverse, but it could also bring new challenges and concerns around issues such as advertising, intellectual property (IP), and content moderation. How should IP rights be applied to worlds created by or with the help of AI? What policies should be put in place to prevent misuse of generative AI to create dangerous or harmful content? What regulatory guardrails, if any, should be put in place for AI-powered advertising?

Speakers:

  • Liv Ericson (Mozilla)

  • Aaron Kleiner (Unity)

  • Karim Mohammadali (Google)

  • Adam Thierer (R Street Institute)

  • Miriam Vogel (EqualAI)

  • Daniel Castro (ITIF) - Moderator

4:55 PM

Closing Remarks

  • Liz Hyman (XR Association)

5:00 PM

Network Reception Begins

6:00 PM

Conference Concludes

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