Sustainability of the Metaverse: A Transition to Industry 5.0

This study analyzes the sustainability of the metaverse technology by adopting a responsible digitalization perspective to drive the transition to Industry 5.0. This is motivated by the current experiences of digital transformation paths, which appear careless regarding the side effects induced when adopting digital technologies—for example, the energy consumption associated with blockchain, the jobs lost due to 3D printing, and the continuous payments required by artificial intelligence systems. While very few sustainable solutions are currently available to properly address these issues, similar effects might materialize when adopting metaverse technology. Therefore, this study provides tools to undertake a…