By Jeffrey Dastin and Dawn Chmielewski

AUSTIN (Reuters) – For companies playing with virtual reality as disparate as planemaker Boeing Co and online gaming platform Roblox Corp, forays into the so-called “metaverse” have come with equal parts promise and danger.

The US aviation giant is looking to digital technology to speed production of new planes, said Susan Doniz, chief information officer for Boeing, at the Reuters Momentum conference in Austin on Tuesday. She cited how Boeing cut the development time of the T-7 trainer aircraft by 80% to three years as an example of what might be possible for commercial jets.

Still, Doniz declined to offer a target date for when Boeing will digitally design its next big plane, a goal the company has discussed for years. Boeing has…