The Metaverse: Driven By AI, Along With the Old Fashioned Kind of Intelligence
The metaverse, a massively scaled, interactive virtual platform, is on the verge of bringing some of that science fiction to reality, as a place where people may play, socialize, work, shop, and ultimately buy and pay using nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and other types of cryptocurrency. It is made up of decentralized, networked virtual reality environments where people (or their avatars) can accomplish almost anything they can do in real life.
The Metaverse’s Evolution
The metaverse is on track to become the next major milestone in the evolution of the internet, altering how private and public-sector enterprises operate. And, like with many other technological revolutions, such as the cell phone or mobile computing, it will be driven by the customer, who wants the same digital experience at work that they have at home. Consider the following business examples:
A new level of virtual meetings
The metaverse may soon become the next large convention center, where enterprises, associations, and trade groups can gather in the form of avatars. During Covid-19, virtual conferences were the standard, but many participants discovered that they lacked the benefits of in-person conferences. Attending a virtual conference will more closely resemble being beamed up and placed at a distant conference location with the richer, immersive experience that the metaverse can deliver.
Manufacturing based on design
Manufacturers will be able to create things and release digital versions into the metaverse. Take, for example, a new sports vehicle model. The maker can monitor how people respond to it, how they use it, and where they “travel” with it. They can then retool specific features based on the reactions. In essence, it takes the concept of a “digital twin” to a whole new virtual level. Furthermore, it creates enormous marketing chances to create contests, races, and other promotions that increase brand awareness.
Ecommerce’s next frontier
Consider Amazon to be a metaverse shopping mall, with your avatar walking down the street and through the entrance, where you’re greeted by a sales clerk who directs you to the camping goods section. It recommends various tents and allows you to cuddle up in one. You pay for the items with cryptocurrency. On your way out, you stop by an art gallery and buy an NFT of a popular meme, as well as spot another avatar wearing a great pair of Nike Air Jordans. Because your feet are fatigued from all this “walking,” you come across a Nike store and purchase the same shoes for your virtual and “actual” selves. The metaverse provides significant prospects for enhanced sales and user experience, as well as a treasure trove of consumer data for marketers.
AI’s Role in the Metaverse
The power of numerous technologies will play a significant part in such a rich and fully immersive reality. Virtual/augmented reality and blockchain advancements will be required before we can completely realize the metaverse. Advanced supercomputers are already being created to compete with the most powerful ones on the market. Meta, for example, revealed an AI supercomputer in January, and other companies are expected to follow suit soon. Furthermore, today’s virtual reality headsets, smart glasses, and other wearable technology will be insufficient in the metaverse. New wearables must be developed to provide users with a more seamless, pleasant, and non-intrusive experience.
AI, perhaps more than any other technology, will power the metaverse and enable its scale and automation. All activities will be driven autonomously by deep learning-based software, and interactions will be driven by chatbots and other forms of natural language processing. AI will be asked to comprehend words, photos, video, and text and respond appropriately, independent of the user’s language. All of this necessitates a vast amount of training data and modeling.
In reality, AI will generate many 3D pictures, animation, speech, and even metaverse artwork. AI will also be used to automate smart contracts, decentralized ledgers, and other blockchain technologies in order to facilitate virtual transactions. However, much as we are already attempting to govern AI’s use, ensuring that bias does not sneak into AI algorithms will be critical. The problem of unfair AI is exacerbated in the metaverse since no one will determine the rules of play or enforce any ethical guidelines. The problem is that, while there must be some form of law, no one can dominate the metaverse or it will fail to deliver on its promise of a decentralized, non-authoritarian society.
There will eventually be enormous chances for enterprises to prosper in the metaverse, but we must step carefully. We already live in a polarized world where extremists and bad actors have too many outlets. They may be given full rein in the Wild West metaverse. The problem is to live true to the metaverse’s promise while also ensuring that there are regulations for joining it.
