What Is the Role of Police in the Metaverse and AI '4th Industrial Revolution' Era?

National Police Agency Orders Related Research Service
Preparing Prediction and Response for New Types of Crime

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police are researching the changes that new technologies of the '4th Industrial Revolution' such as the metaverse (extended virtual world), artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving bring to the security environment. The plan is to create a foundation that can predict and prevent new types of crimes that are difficult to respond to with the existing legal system or security system.

According to the police on the 13th, the National Police Agency recently commissioned a research project titled 'Threats and Responses of New Technologies in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.' The police explained the background, saying, "The existing manpower-centered strategy has limitations in effectively responding not only to realized risks such as hacking but also to upcoming threats like autonomous driving and the metaverse," and "The advancement of cutting-edge technologies will further sophisticate crimes and pose various challenges to the current security system."

Through this research, the police will first analyze the development trends of key technologies driving the 4th Industrial Revolution, including AI, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), encryption and anonymization technologies, extended reality, and digital manufacturing technologies. In particular, they plan to examine changes in the patterns of new crimes and infringements of legal interests, the impact of key technologies on crime and security, current response measures, and the limitations of existing legal and policy responses. Based on the conclusions drawn, the police will establish customized security strategies by dividing imminent threats and long-term security threats that the 4th Industrial Revolution era will bring. Additionally, they will diagnose how far the future security service domain will expand.

As the 4th Industrial Revolution becomes a reality, discussions related to new technologies and crime are actively taking place in Korea. At an academic seminar held early last month by the Police University’s Institute of Security Policy, it was pointed out that legal infringements in the metaverse, which currently occur visually and linguistically, could in the future transcend spatial constraints. Also, at the 'Science Security Development Forum' co-hosted by the National Police Agency, the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, and the Science Security Promotion Center, a venue was provided to explore crimes using advanced technologies and response measures. A National Police Agency official explained, "If there is light in the 4th Industrial Revolution, there will also be darkness, and the police must find it to respond," adding, "We plan to use this as basic data to preemptively check and prevent security vulnerabilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.