As we watch extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) continue to evolve in line with each other, while virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) seep into a number of industries, will immersive tech soon partner seamlessly with generative AI? From shaping live VR experiences to revolutionising collaborative interactions, we could be looking at a match made in heaven.
“AR and VR technologies are like two sides of a coin. AR overlays digital information onto our physical world, while VR creates fully immersive digital environments,” says Chelsea Donovan, senior manager of corporate digital experience at Genentech.
“It's safe to say that the fusion of generative AI with AR and VR is no longer just the stuff of sci-fi. It's here and revolutionising how we work, play and interact with the world around us,” she says.
As we see XR companies pioneer new ways to improve user experience, generative AI could drive a future of smart immersivity. With this in mind, let’s delve further into a newly automated tomorrow for the XR world.
The evolution of generative AI
Generative AI is on the rise. After ChatGPT raked in a whopping 100 million active users in just a month of its release, it’s clear that automated conversation and generative content tools are becoming more popular than ever with a digitally native audience.
“Incorporating the full power of ChatGPT into search and browsing will create tangible value for consumers, enabling richer responses to queries that go beyond simply returning a list of links,” states Mark Murphy, Head of U.S. Enterprise Software Research at J.P. Morgan.
“This also creates a virtuous cycle of better engagement for consumers and higher-value targeted ads for advertisers, ultimately resulting in fewer ads overall to the benefit of both parties. While AI initiatives are clearly still early-stage, we believe a paradigm shift is underway.”
As generative AI filters itself into a number of industries, it is quickly becoming a well-used tool for marketers, content creators and even AR/VR developers.
“Artificial Intelligence in the creation of content is moving beyond applications such as SEO, opening the door to data-driven narratives and full-fledged content generation,” says Cision Chief Product & Technology Officer Jay Webster.
With the ability to generate live content in seconds and present consumers with natural conversation, it could be the key a fully functioning metaverse has been looking for.
What does this mean for the XR industry?
While experts are calling AI and XR a match made in heaven, what could this newfound partnership mean?
AI-powered XR design could drive a limitless future for immersive content creation. With the ability to automate and personalise AR and VR content production, XR users of the future could experience completely customised scenarios, interacting with tech in the same way as the real world.
As XR users embark on a future of navigating their own world-building journeys, here are just a few ways AI is transforming the XR landscape.
The birth of live content generation
ChatGPT offers users a hyper-realistic conversational experience, and in the same way, generative AI could help create live immersive content on XR platforms.
With the ability to examine and act on data input in real-time, XR developers can use AI-powered content bots to extend and personalise a user’s VR experience while they’re still hooked up to the headset.
VR developers Moth+Flame are great examples of this. Known for creating VR training experiences, they have found new ways to use AI to improve their immersive learning packages.
“The biggest challenge for all education is the scale of content creation,” says Kevin Cornish, CEO of Moth+Flame. “So much enterprise training is limited to low-scoring e-learning products because of scale limitations. With this tool, enterprises will be able to scale their content creation across all use cases in virtual reality, the most effective training modality available.”
Consumers using Moth+Flame’s VR-powered training programmes will be able to experience on-demand learning and enjoy an XR simulation that adapts depending on how they react and engage with their virtual surroundings. Mimicking the domino effects of the real world, they aim to use generative AI to produce a more realistic training experience.
AI-powered eye-tracking
XR developers can also use AI to help boost how much data they collect from users in a live VR scenario.
Take NVIDIA, for example. As an XR-powered broadcasting platform, they are constantly finding ways to improve the interactions between humans and machines for a more seamless immersive experience.
While they have already introduced AI enhancements to their platform to help reduce noise and remove echo during collaboration, in their newest upgrade, they have also welcomed AI-driven eye tracking.
“NVIDIA Broadcast displays true innovation and adoption of XR, AI, and immersive tech. The solution is not attempting to be transformational. Instead, Broadcast appears to be a genuinely assistive tool that can help broadcasters improve their content using subtle, behind-the-scenes tools at various levels,” explain experts at XR Today.
This feature not only aligns a user’s gaze with the camera but aims to help consumers stay engaged by collecting more intricate motion data and feeding back a live content generation.
A new era of generative VR
As we step into an AI-infused tomorrow, the XR sector is ripe for innovation. From humanising conversation in a VR environment to constructing content in real-time, the partnership between AI and XR could make for a more realistic, immersive experience.
The question is, as AI powers a more automated future for XR developers, will it one day be able to function without developer interaction at all?
