AI for Immersive Metaverse Experience

Metaverse has received a huge attention in recent times with several Big Techs having invested in this concept. Accenture defines the metaverse as “an evolution of the Internet that enables a user to move beyond ‘browsing’ to ‘inhabiting’ in a persistent, shared experience that spans the spectrum of our real world to the fully virtual and in between”. The evolution that Metaverse brings can be seen along three dimensions: 1) shift towards spatial experiences: which includes 2D, 3D, augmented, virtual, and mixed reality immersive experiences, 2) shared co-presence: where users experience a persistent shared space with a sense of co-presence with others, and 3) trusted identities and transactions to address challenges of fake identities, products, and transactions as present in today’s internet.

For example, a retail marketplace, on Metaverse could be seen as an immersive spatial experience where users can shop along with their families and friends who join virtually in the same environment. The sense of shared co-presence gives them the ability to discuss about products in real time and persistency gives them ability to come back to the same space. This evolution opens an enormous opportunity to rethink the digital experiences future applications would offer to the people. AI would be the core engine behind making these experiences richer, immersive, and engaging. The role of AI, in the Metaverse, is broad; however, in this tutorial, we will focus on two areas where AI will play a major role in shaping up the form and function of the Metaverse by: 1) bringing more realism in Metaverse with high fidelity immersive content generated through AI techniques and 2) enhancing user interactions by bringing more intelligence in the interaction modes.