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A new technology is hitting the streets of California that lets motorists use high-tech digital license plates on their vehicles instead of the traditional metal variety. After passing in Arizona and Michigan, the Motor Vehicle Digital Number Plates Bill has now also passed in California. This bill allows vehicle owners to use digital license plates. The bill only allows consumers to use plates made by the Sacramento based company Reviver.
The idea for digital license plates is not new, the 1974 article: An Electronic License Plate for Motor Vehicles by Fred Sterzler, introduced the idea as a cheap way to increase safety on the United states highways.
These digital license plates resemble a tablet that is connected directly to the car’s vehicle computer systems. Not only can it display the license plate on the screen, it is also able to emit a radio signal which can be used for tracking the car and other digital monitoring purposes.
One of the main advantages of having a digital license plate for the vehicle owner is not having to go through traditional channels like the department of motor vehicles to renew or apply for vehicle registration. The system can also display additional messages alongside the licence plate number, for example if the vehicle owner has reported the vehicle as stolen and if the vehicle has no active insurance.
As with most digital innovations, privacy is being exchanged for functionalities. As this device is connected to the internet it is susceptible to malicious attacks. If the system is compromised potential risks include: identity fraud, data theft and an unwanted party having control over the ignition disruptor included in the system. Additional concerns are being raised about the police getting access to the system’s information including the speedometer, which could result in unwanted constant surveillance.
Above all it seems like a $20 a month + $99 single time install fee to replace an invulnerable metal license plate with a glorified tablet. If for whatever reason this tablet would stop working your car instantly becomes not road legal.
It will be interesting to see if this new technology will gain popularity among vehicle owners. Without proper legislation it seems like owners of digital license plates are gaining very little in functionality whilst giving up a lot of their privacy and opening themselves up to digital attacks.

Bibliography
Sterzler, F. An Electronic License Plate for Motor Vehicles (1974). RCA review. http://www.rsp-italy.it/Electronics/Magazines/RCA%20Review/_contents/RCA%20Review%201974-06.pdf#page=5

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On the 28th of October 2021 Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would rebrand to Meta Platforms. Additionally they would divert their focus away from their traditional social media platform to an entirely new and different endeavour: The Metaverse, a post-reality universe where users can interact with virtual environments through AR and VR (Mystakidis, 2021).
This change of focus is the biggest bet the company has made in recent years. Right now their version of the metaverse called Horizon, is only available via their own hardware: The quest VR headset. According to Meta one of the major factors hindering the adoption of their software is the discomfort of wearing the VR glasses for an extended period of time. Additionally there are critics who voice concerns about the unwanted interactions with strangers and the strange looking characters.
However their real concerns are not voiced through their PR-channels, recently an internal memo was leaked to the outside world. This memo from an executive to the development teams stated that the app contained too may bugs, and that a major improvements have to be made before the software can be released to a larger audience. The executive also voiced concerns about the fact that the developers did not seem to use the metaverse themselves, he said: “Why don’t we love the product we’ve built so much that we use it all the time?”. Combine this leaked memo with the fact that the stock price is at a 52-week low point and the future is not looking too bright for Meta.
As investors are losing faith in Meta’s stock due to the lack of growth of Facebook and the hype for the metaverse is slowly dying down, the question is: ”What does the future of Meta look like?”. Personally I have no interest in joining the metaverse at the moment, but I can imagine that it is an intriguing concept for many people. If Meta is able to solve the current problems it faces and are able to make people excited to use their software they will be sitting on a goldmine, since they are miles ahead of the nearest serious competitor. However, I personally do not see this happening in the near future, and the investors will not tolerate the ever decreasing stock price and will at some point force the company in another direction or jump ship entirely.
Overall I am excited to see what the metaverse will bring in the future and will be keeping a close eye on their stock price and news surrounding the project.

References
Mystakidis S. Metaverse. Encyclopedia. 2022; 2(1):486-497. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2010031

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