Metaverse AI Glossary: Key Terms to Understand How AI is Shaping the Metaverse

Metaverse AI Glossary

In the ever-evolving landscape of emerging technology, the merging of artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse has started a shift that will without a doubt reshape the way we perceive and interact in the virtual world.

Use the AI Metaverse Glossary to serve as a compass to navigate this transformative realm and discover terms that define these two groundbreaking technologies.

If you’re new here, perhaps you’d like to start with our general Metaverse Glossary.

Table of Contents

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1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI refers to the development and use of algorithms, programs, and systems that enable computers to perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence. It involves learning, reasoning, and self-correction, and it can replicate skills such as pattern recognition, decision-making, and continuous improvement.

2. AI Learning

The ability of AI to recognize patterns or relationships in data, enabling it to acquire knowledge and improve its performance over time. For example, an AI might learn to distinguish objects in images.

3. AI Reasoning

The capacity of AI to make informed decisions or predictions based on data. This is used in applications like chatbots providing answers or email filters identifying spam.

4. Self-correction

The capability of AI to continuously enhance its performance by learning from past mistakes or undesirable outcomes. It improves over time through a feedback loop, aiming for higher accuracy.

5. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

A form of AI that is highly advanced and capable of performing any intellectual task that a human can. AGI possesses a broad range of cognitive abilities and is often seen as a goal for AI research.

6. Metaverse

The metaverse is an expansive virtual space that links the physical and digital worlds. It enables interactions, transactions, and experiences across various technologies like XR, blockchain, 5G, and AI. Learn more about Metaverse Terms.

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7. Machine Learning (ML)

A subset of AI that involves training computers to learn from data and improve their performance on specific tasks. It includes techniques like supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning.

8. Supervised Learning

A machine learning approach where AI is trained on labeled data to predict outcomes for new data. It’s used in tasks like forecasting metaverse platform usage based on historical data.

9. Unsupervised Learning

A machine learning method where AI clusters data into categories without pre-existing labels. It can identify patterns or relationships within data, even if the AI doesn’t fully understand the context.

10. Reinforcement Learning

An AI learning technique that involves trial and error. The AI learns from rewards and penalties, making decisions that maximize rewards over time. It’s used in scenarios like training AI to navigate VR environments.

11. Deep Learning

A subcategory of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks to process data, inspired by the human brain’s neural structure. Deep learning is responsible for creating sophisticated AI models capable of human-like tasks.

12. Natural Language Processing (NLP)

The AI field that enables computers to understand, interpret, and respond to human language. It powers chatbots, virtual assistants, language translation, and other forms of human-computer interaction.

13. Speech Recognition

AI’s ability to convert spoken language into text, enabling machines to understand and process human speech. It’s used for applications like voice commands in the metaverse.

14. Computer Vision

The branch of AI that allows machines to interpret visual information from images, videos, or live camera feeds. Computer vision enables object recognition, scene understanding, and 3D environment creation.

15. AI Planning

An AI technique that finds optimal solutions to complex problems by identifying the best sequence of actions to achieve a desired goal. It’s used in tasks like optimizing delivery routes or managing computing resources for metaverse experiences.

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16. Edge Computing

A decentralized computing model that processes data closer to its source, reducing network latency and improving privacy. Edge computing enhances the performance of data-intensive tasks in the metaverse.

17. Smart Cameras

Cameras equipped with AI that can transmit real-time data over networks, enabling real-world objects, people, and places to interact with the metaverse.

18. Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT

The integration of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, allowing physical and digital realms to interact and communicate in more complex ways.

19. Deep Learning

A subcategory of machine learning that employs artificial neural networks to process data and make complex decisions. Deep learning is used to develop highly advanced AI models capable of human-like tasks.

20. Smart Avatars

Virtual representations of users in the metaverse that are enhanced by AI to exhibit lifelike qualities, enabling more natural and intuitive interactions with others.

21. AI Virtual Assistants

AI-powered programs that assist users by answering questions, performing tasks, and engaging in conversations in the metaverse.

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22. AI-Generated Art

Pieces of art created by AI algorithms using existing data and patterns. AI-generated art can be used to enhance metaverse environments and experiences.

23. AI-Powered Blockchain

The application of AI to enhance security, automation, and efficiency in blockchain transactions, enabling secure and efficient smart contract execution.

24. AI-Powered Smart Cities

The integration of AI, 5G, and other technologies into physical environments to create interconnected and responsive cities where virtual experiences and real-world interactions coexist.

25. AI-Powered Metaverse

The fusion of AI technologies with XR, blockchain, 5G, and other innovations to create a dynamic and immersive virtual world where users can interact, transact, and explore with unprecedented possibilities.

26. Spatial Computing

A concept that involves understanding and interacting with the physical world and digital information in a unified space, enhancing immersive experiences. Read more about Spatial Computing.

27. Haptic Feedback

Technology that provides tactile sensations to users, enhancing immersion by simulating touch and interaction with virtual objects.

28. Holography

The technique of creating three-dimensional images using light, often used in the metaverse to enhance visual experiences.

29. Embodied AI

AI systems that have a physical presence and can interact with the environment in the metaverse, often through robotic bodies or virtual avatars.

30. Emotion AI

AI that can detect, understand, and respond to human emotions, enhancing realistic interactions and emotional engagement in the metaverse.

31. Quantum Computing

Advanced computing technology that leverages quantum mechanics, with potential applications in solving complex problems and simulations in the metaverse.

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Demystifying the Metaverse: A Guide for Business Leaders

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The new buzzword “Metaverse” is creating a great deal of confusion and noise for corporate executives. Faced with such a degree of uncertainty, it remains unclear how to take action in the short term to prepare for this new revolution that is in the making.

We spoke with Virtway’s CEO, Jose Antonio Tejedor, to take a more in-depth look at the concept of the Metaverse and demystify what it means for companies now and in the near future. One thing is for sure, what is here and what is to come is full of opportunities.

Questions Covered

Let’s start with the obvious question, what is the Metaverse?

It’ s important to first mention that the concept of the Metaverse originally emerged in the sci-fi novel Snow Crash (1992) where it was described as a 3D world where people interact with each other through avatars. Among the “experts”, a simple version that is fairly widely accepted is that the Metaverse is a 3D space where you can do (at least) the same things as in reality. In an attempt to apply a strict generic definition investor Matthew Ball describes it as:

“The Metaverse is a permanent network of real-time rendered 3D worlds and simulations that support continuity of identity, objects, history, payments and entitlements, which can be experienced synchronously by an effectively unlimited number of users, each with a sense of individuality.”

It is unlikely that we will see this continuity and interconnectedness between different 3D worlds in the next 10 years. There’s a long way to go before there is that level of standardization in information between the different 3D spaces. If we also intend to integrate virtual and augmented reality into the definition, the situation becomes even more complicated.

We have to resort to a much simpler description so that users who are not experts in technology (and philosophy) can understand what a Metaverse is. We could say that a Metaverse is a 3D space where people interact through their avatars and enjoy different types of experiences. What do we mean by experiences? They are interactions between people similar to those we make in reality or to the dynamics already created in the world of video games.

Will cryptocurrencies and NFTs be required in the Metaverse?

It’s optional. A Metaverse will have an internal virtual currency that is often used as a gamification element but this currency does not have to be in a blockchain. Including NFTs is an interesting way of monetization when the company has a digital asset of value for its users: sports clubs, singers, etc. It is also possible to create NFTs that only exist within the metaverse itself: clothes, objects, furniture, apartments, buildings, land…

It is important to mention that creating NFTs can have implications on the community and should be evaluated carefully as not all users are reacting well to this type of digital assets as seen in this article.

Will the Metaverse be in VR?

It’s clear that the future is VR but right now this depends on the target audience. According to studies there are about 26 million active VR devices on the market compared to 14,000 million mobile devices. If you want to reach as many users as possible it is much more interesting to focus on compatibility with mobile devices and, of course, PCs and MACs.

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Will the Metaverse have to incorporate AR?

Not at all. Augmented reality hardly has anything to do with the Metaverse at the moment (although the philosophers of technology insist on it), and it will be difficult to connect in the future. The Metaverse is a 3D virtual world, and augmented reality is based on “augmenting” reality by projecting objects or elements on top of it through glasses or cell phones. Being able to see the clothes of someone’s avatar projected on their real image is something anecdotal or “nice to have”, but totally irrelevant for the Metaverse.

What is the difference between a Metaverse and a video game?

In a Metaverse there is no single mechanic or objective as in video games. In all video games there is a fundamental “core loop” that the player understands and follows with a purpose. Fortnite, for example, is a video game where users fight each other in groups of 100 people with the goal of eliminating opponents.

The principle of a Metaverse is that it is open and users can explore, interact and engage with the 3D world without a predefined goal (gameplay).

Is there a Metaverse that exists right now?

We could say that Second Life is the closest thing at the moment to a Metaverse for adults. It is a large 3D space where users can interact, build, trade…, without a specific objective predefined by Linden Labs.

Roblox, on the other hand, is a Metaverse for children. They can interact with each other, explore and play a multitude of mini-games together.

Do you think there will be a single Metaverse?

Just as there is no single social network, there will be no single Metaverse. There will be multiple Metaverses with different market shares and geographic and demographic segmentation. Each of us will have our own favorite Metaverse where we will meet friends, have our private space, and “play” online.

Companies will have a presence in the main Metaverses as they do now in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn…

Will we work exclusively in the Metaverse?

For corporate environments there are already a multitude of tools that allow online meetings with avatars, desktop sharing, webcam… These are not Metaverses, they are productivity tools. Surely it will be rare for companies to propose to their workers to enter a Metaverse more focused on leisure and entertainment, as it seems that Meta is going to do in an attempt to regain its young population that they have lost in recent years.

On a personal level, Metaverses will allow people to work in them and earn a living. There are many options and dozens will emerge:

  • Create content such as clothes, furniture and sell them in internal virtual stores as virtual objects or as NFTs.
  • Manage entertainment spaces such as pubs where parties, dates, live concerts, etc. are organized.
  • Work as a virtual assistant for companies that have spaces within the Metaverse.
  • Mining cryptocurrencies. There are Metaverses that allow you to perform actions to acquire the world’s cryptocurrency, although balancing it to allow a person to make a living working in this way will be a challenge.

Is Virtway a Metaverse?

THE CORPORATE METAVERSE OFFICE MEETING

According to our own definition mentioned above, we are not yet a Metaverse since we do not have an open space for all users where they can explore, play and interact freely. We are still a tool to create Metaverses.

We are in the middle of a fundraising round to create our Metaverse with a unique design and position in the market. At the moment, we use our technology to provide private spaces to companies within VirtwayEvents.com and we create 100% customized Metaverses for companies.

What can companies do right now in the Metaverse?

Let’s differentiate according to budget.

Low budget: To provide “Metaverse-like” experiences to employees and customers, the best option is to hire a private space in one of the existing tools where you can have meetings, present the company’s products in a memorable and spectacular way and carry out fun training activities with employees.

Moderate or high budget: In this case I would follow a diversification strategy.

  1. Negotiate presence in the existing 3D worlds/games/Metaverses according to the traffic they have: Roblox, Zepeto, Avakin, IMVU, Animal Crossing, Core, etc.
  2. Have a 100% independent Metaverse where you control the data, the users, the experiences, the gamification, etc.

For a company, the difference between having a private space within a Metaverse or having its own Metaverse will be like having an account on a social network or having its own website/application.

We all lived through the Facebook boom when companies spent millions of dollars to attract traffic and gain new followers. At a certain point Facebook decided that companies should pay for their wall posts to reach their own followers. From that moment on, marketing budgets became more focused on their own websites, applications and creating user databases. Will the same thing happen with the Metaverse: create your own, promote it and make it grow, or create it in an existing Metaverse and be exposed to its rules? It will all depend on the available budget.

What would a company in the Metaverse look like?

Let’s explain it according to the type of objectives that we want to accomplish:

- Branding

  • Show the company as highly innovative by offering a spectacular and fun environment to users. The main focus is the design of the environments and the games or interactive elements that are created to surprise visitors. Imagination is the limit.

- Sales

  • Sell online showing the product in a novel way connected with the online store that the company already has. This could be 3D stores for clothing, appliances, books, etc.
  • Create a new source of income for the company through the selling of virtual goods or NFTs. It is usually based on the creation of a new business model, normally Free to Play and/or subscription based.

- Marketing

  • Create a wow effect with customers. The company’s products and services are shown in an interactive and fun way. These are usually services or products that require high value-added assessment. There is usually online support staff, just like in reality.
  • Create or retain a community of users. The goal is to get users to return regularly to the Metaverse, interact with other users and get value from this new medium.

- Training

  • Offer a new type of employee training that is more fun and focused on skills development.

- Meetings

  • Have original and unique meeting spaces, a soccer stadium, the streets of Paris or an apartment for each employee. From time to time, parties and celebrations can be organized with live or recorded music and games.

- Internal communication

  • The two previous points can be combined in a more ambitious approach.
    • Encourage team communication.
    • Reinforce corporate values
    • Motivate participation and engagement in the company’s performance by means of challenges, games and social activities.

Will it be possible to reuse 3D content between one Metaverse and another?

If the model is created using the tools of a particular Metaverse, it may not be reusable, but if it is created using standard tools from the gaming world, the models can be used between Metaverses with slight adaptations.

Do you have more thoughts about the Metaverse and Virtway’s vision? Contact us and we would love to continue the conversation

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