AI and Metaverse: The Key Lies Only in Mutual Interaction in 2022 and Beyond

The link between AI and Metaverse needs mutual interaction to enhance experiences

In the face of prevalent discussion that the futuristic Metaverse is to be AI-driven, most recently some counter-points have been generated mainly from Mark Zuckerberg and his team, especially from Joelle Pineau, head of Meta's AI research. Rightly or wrongly, the perception was slowly gaining ground that Team Zuckerberg was bent on constructing a kind of Metaverse, the most recent and absolutely cutting-edge tech platform combining our life with virtual reality, in which AI will determine everything. This perception is now going through a phase of moderation with the integration of AI and Metaverse.

In a way, the response of the Meta team is timely because the vision of Metaverse is still in a primary stage. At this evolutionary moment to adopt a definitive stance about AI's monopolistic role over Metaverse is both impractical and risky. There is reason in Pineau's recent clarification that it is not a question of a single technology but of multiple technologies insofar as the process of evolution of the Metaverse is concerned.  AI may, to follow what Zuckerberg has said, play the "unlocking" role but it will not have an exclusively deterministic role. The mingling of the virtual and the real worlds needs to utilize the power of various applications. Any close-ended approach adopted in such a complicated case will be self-defeating.

At the same time, judging by the contentions of the Meta team it seems that while there is continued emphasis on AI research much importance is also provided to shape it with insights from people's ways of using AR and VR devices. There is the realization that models do not fall from the blue sky. They are to be constructed in tune with the existing reality, almost all of which pervades society. Then again society also has to be made familiar with the latest forms of new technology. That Zuckerberg is quite serious about it is proved by the fact that recently he resorted to conversational English to promote Builder Bot and its role in creating virtual reality. Builder Bot incidentally permits users to specify what exactly they want the AI to generate. In his demonstration 'legless' Zuckerberg, situated on an island, spoke to AI to command it to create a beach, clouds, trees, and a picnic blanket.

The stress on the 'conversational' mode has both symbolic and substantive values. Zuckerberg is under severe strain with his social media firm faltering badly in the market. This perhaps made him more aware of the need to embark on 'socialized' and interactive AI for greater effectiveness. But such awareness does not only concern Zuckerberg. Better if it pervades in every nook and corner of the Metaverse construction, the reason being that from the very beginning to the end there is no one-sided flow from AI to Metaverse. The key lies in the mutuality of the two.