Digital twins in health care and a sociological-legal approach to Metaverse technology

It's time for our first webinar in 2023! We invite you to attend the lecture of Mirko Đuković, PhD student of the Central European University in Vienna, who will discuss important topics in the new world of digital technology. Mirko will talk about how Metaverse technology transforms all aspects of our society, about its sociological-legal, as well as security challenges, and the (in)adequacy of existing regulations in the EU. Apply by filling in this form until 26th of February at 12:00 at latest. Afterward, we will send out the access information.

Event Details

Date: 26.04.2023
Time: 18:00-19:00
Location: Google Meet

Topic

We are currently living in the fourth wave of computing and networking, where mixed reality (virtual and augmented) exists as a parallel 3D world of the socio-technological world. Our physical presence is no longer necessary for social existence, because we can have social interactions without leaving the apartment. This is one of the key potentials of the metaverse: to transform the social world as we know it. Metaverse greatly affects entertainment, trade, finance, education, and since the Coronavirus pandemic, this technology has also been used in health care. For example, an international team of surgeons used metaverse technology to train themselves to separate three-year-old conjoined twins joined at their head. Also, mental health professionals use the metaverse to work with patients dealing with different phobias. In addition, metaverse allows doctors to work on "digital twins" of patients. However, what are the risks of this technology? The development of science and technology has had a huge impact on public health. Maintaining public health through technological advances has become the prerogative of medicine more than ever before. But the metaverse not only leads us to the "Matrix" reality where we live in a simulation, but also presents risks for cybersecurity and data privacy, which will have serious consequences in the physical world. Technology carries the risk of a reductionist approach to health, as it excludes important components that affect the health of individuals and populations, but also excludes societies with a low rate of development, and contributes to greater inequality at the global level. This lecture will point out the sociological as well as legal issues of the metaverse, as well as given an overview of the existing regulation in the EU that (cannot) respond to the challenges that come with metaverse technology.

Biografija

Mirko Đuković is a doctoral student at the Central European University in Vienna, where he is researching the law of new technologies, biomedical law, bioethics and the right to health access in the program for comparative constitutional law. He is currently a visiting researcher at NOVA University in Lisbon. He previously worked at the University of Bologna and Oxford University. Furthermore, he was a fellow of the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg. He taught at the Chinese University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, the Central European University and the University of Donja Gorica. As an expert associate, he worked on projects of the Council of Europe, the European Union, the World Health Organization, the Auschwitz Institute, etc. He is the winner of the Rector's Award for Research of the Central European University, as well as the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts. He graduated with a degree in law at the University of Montenegro, while he completed his master's studies at the University of Belgrade and subsequently at Kyushu University in Japan.