Cloud gaming is picking up speed, at least PWC claims in a recent study.
Since the future of the Metaverse is in the cloud, and the technical framework is almost identical to that of gaming, I think this statement is very exciting. The issue of latency is mission-critical for both. Unfortunately, PWC comes to the wrong conclusion: Here, the bandwidth in the network is presented as a limiting factor.
❗️Latenz has nothing to do with bandwidth tun❗️
The decisive factor is the network architecture. What is needed is a high-performance edge infrastructure in the networks.
An example: The rendering of elaborate Spaces must not take place in a cloud data center 6000 kilometers away, but in physical proximity to the user.
Such infrastructure will be a key locational advantage in the Metaverse in the future.
Following Elon Musk's announcement that his AI startup will rely on processors from Nvidia, the shares of the graphics processor manufacturer from Santa Clara, USA, are soaring.
The Nvidia share reaches the highest closing price of the past 12 months on 4/18-23. Similar to Nvidia are the gains at quite a few smaller and larger suppliers in the industry. This shows that we are dealing with a multi-billion market in AI and Metaverse, even beyond the generally visible companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, etc.
Cloud and communications technology in particular play an extremely important role. If you don't have the right partners on board early on and can scale in time, you won't be able to serve the newly emerging markets. AI hype and the metaverse are very closely related. AI will give the metaverse the momentum it needs to scale and adapt dynamically to new business models.
This is not about the AI-based animation of an avatar in the Metaverse, which then conducts training sessions as a 3D chatbot. No, it is about nothing less than the organic further development of the Metaverse itself. The traditional business of developing virtual spaces will be completely transformed. Instead, we are talking about dynamic platforms that, based on AI, can create requirement-specific virtual worlds at the push of a button in just a few seconds, which can be changed and adapted again just as quickly at any time.
The Metaverse is meant to provide an immersive and interactive experience that blurs the lines between reality and fiction. But how can the Metaverse be made even more realistic and vivid? One possible answer is volumetric streaming.
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Volumetric streaming is a technology that makes it possible to capture, process and transmit three-dimensional objects and people in real time. It captures not only the surfaces, but also the depth and volume of the scene. The result is a holographic representation that can be viewed from any angle. Volumetric streaming opens up new possibilities for displaying content in the metaverse, such as:
Live events: You can participate in concerts, sporting events or other events as if you were there. It is possible to change the perspective, move freely or interact with other spectators.
Social interaction: This is about meeting other users of the Metaverse as if they were physically present. You can see and hear their facial expressions, gestures and body language. Virtual objects can be shared or manipulated.
Education and training: Streamed objects can be used to learn from experts or participate in simulations that present realistic scenarios. For example, you can practice a medical procedure or perform training on a complex machine.
However, volumetric streaming is not without its challenges. High bandwidth and computing power are required to ensure high quality and a good experience. In addition, privacy and copyright issues need to be addressed when it comes to capturing and distributing people and objects. Finally, ethical and social aspects must be considered, such as the impact of volumetric streaming on perceptions of reality and identity.
Volumetric streaming is an exciting and promising technology that has the potential to revolutionize the metaverse. It offers new opportunities for content creation and consumption that enable immersive and interactive experiences. However, it also requires careful development and regulation to avoid potential risks and abuses. Volumetric streaming is thus not only a technical challenge, but also a cultural and social one.
A lot has been written about the topic of empathy in the metaverse in the past time. Primarily it was about the question whether empathy can be experienced or felt in the metaverse. I am firmly convinced that this is possible and that it happens consciously or unconsciously when working in the metaverse.
However, this question takes on a new quality with the increasing capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI). Can an AI be empathic, and what impact does this have on virtual encounters in the metaverse. Specifically, the issue is whether in a situation where one avatar is a natural person and the opposite is an avatar controlled by an AI. One can approach this issue on two levels. One is a purely neurological approach. The other approach is more an ethical one. This question was already raised by John Wheeler (1) in his consideration. The prerequisite for the existence of empathy is not only the biochemical process, but also depends very much on our "I" understanding as a human being.
The question now arises whether the use of AI-controlled avatars in the metaverse creates a completely new situation? Basically, one has to say that superficially nothing changes in the basic statement. However, in the metaverse and the use of photorealistic avatars, further components are added. Through the immersion, i.e. the mental "immersion" in the virtual world, and the possibly objectively natural behavior of an AI-controlled avatar, something like a "mock empathy" can be conveyed. This is also the conclusion of Andrew McStay (2) in his article published in October 22 ("It from Bit") on the moral problem of an AI-controlled avatar. His conclusion is that while AI is able to provide large parts of empathy, it is incomplete in significant parts. Aspects such as responsibility, solidarity, community, etc. are missing.
In my opinion, these aspects must be taken into account when we think about ChatGPT and similar systems and their use in the metaverse. Basically, this development offers huge opportunities and the potential to create free space for areas where direct human-to-human interaction is necessary. But in the ethical evaluation of the development, we are just at the beginning, and we should conduct this discussion at least as forcefully as we think about new business models with AI.
(1) Wheeler, J.: Information, Physics, Quantum: The Search for Links. Proceedings of the 3rd international symposium on the founda- tions of quantum mechanics, Tokyo. https://philpapers.org/archi ve/WHEIPQ.pdf. Accessed 3 Oct 2022, (1989) (2) McStay, A. Replica in the Metaverse: the moral problem with empathy in 'It from Bit'. AI Ethics (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00252-7
