From Artificial General Intelligence to Artificial General Universe: Metaverse Ethics as an Amplification of AI/AGI Ethics

We propose the concept of Artificial General Universe (AGU), which is the ultimate form of metaverse just as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the ultimate form of AI. Here we discuss its fundamental and social and ethical issues, including the intertwined relationships between AGI and AGU. For one thing, AGU is a universe in which the potential of AGI can be maximised due to the nature of AGU that frees agents from its real-word constraints, ultimately the conditions of the real physical universe and its fundamental laws (e.g., the laws of motion; it is even possible for AGI to design a suitable AGU for itself to maximize the performance). For another, AGU itself is operated by a form of AGI and yet at the same time AGU is a universe in which AI and AGI agents can be accommodated as well as digitalised human agents (or aviators). AGU may thus be regarded as encompassing a vast collection of AIs and AGIs. AI and AGI ethics issues, then, are amplified at a much larger scale in AGU or even in a premature incomplete metaverse. Put differently, while AI/AGI Ethics are concerned with issues caused by a single AI/AGI, Metaverse Ethics and AGU Ethics are concerned with issues caused and amplified by Collective AI/AGI. In particular, common issues such as surveillance capitalism, real-virtual border issues, and governance and accountability issues would be severely amplified in the metaverse and AGU. The acceleration of surveillance capitalism and other social and ethical issues would become even more difficult to stop when the informationalisation of the entire universe comes into reality. It would thus be a pivotal challenge of our time to implement appropriate measures against them and prevent the dystopian acceleration of them from impairing the well-being of the human race.