❗️Lernen with virtual contemporary witnesses in the metaverse through artificial intelligence ❗️
Luther KI at the Didacta 2024
Unfortunately, Germany is increasingly seen as a "developing country for education". Recent studies also seem to prove this...
But what is often forgotten is that we also have a very strong entrepreneurial culture, and there are still many people who are courageous, think outside the box and dare to try something new. And very often with an uncertain outcome.
In my opinion, these are precisely the skills that we need to give students today and that need to be promoted.
Performance comparisons between pupils based on content that has only changed marginally in the last 100 years lead nowhere!
I also see our Luther AI project, which we recently presented at Didacta, against this backdrop.
I'm really proud of our team Vladimir Puhalac Jakow Smirin Sascha Cramer Ralf Peter Reimann
All background information on the project status can be found in the latest blog post by Ralf Peter Reimann 👇
On October 31, 2023, the YouTube channel EKiRInternet premiered a three-dimensional Luther avatar that is controlled by AI and looks photorealistic. The avatar was created using a painting of Martin Luther as a visual basis and answered questions as if Martin Luther were speaking today.¹ With the help of modern AI algorithms, a painting of the reformer was converted into a photorealistic representation. The result is an avatar that behaves like a real person and can interact in space.
These interactions took place on the XRHuman platform in the Metaverse and were broadcast live on YouTube¹. Using ChatGPT technology, the Luther avatar was able to answer questions from the audience in real time. The AI was programmed to give answers similar to Martin Luther¹.
Ralf Peter Reimann (Internet Officer of the Protestant Church in the Rhineland) and I initiated and implemented the cooperation project with the Metaverse platform XRhuman.
We see great potential in making historical figures accessible to a broad target group through the use of AI and providing new impetus, including for the church.
Up to 150 people took part in the live chat and over 100 questions were answered.
Sources: (1) Ask Martin Luther your questions on Reformation Day - presse.ekir.de. https://presse.ekir.de/presse/D89F4DDA59924D37B70A56665710E09C/stell-martin-luther-am-reformationstag-deine-fragen. (2) Live video of the event with Luther on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/live/uBwCHNYvgRY?si=fO_aXVeSNdpPzC4R
Traumatic experiences can lead to serious psychological consequences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The treatment of trauma disorders requires individual and professional support by psychotherapists. But how can artificial intelligence (AI) support or complement trauma therapy? What are the benefits and risks involved?
AI in the diagnosis and prevention of trauma sequelae.
AI could also help identify traumatized individuals at an early stage and offer preventive measures. For example, AI-supported apps or chatbots could provide victims with information, tips or exercises to deal with traumatic symptoms. Such digital interventions could provide a low-threshold and anonymous means of accessing psychological help.
AI in the therapy of trauma sequelae.
One possible field of application for artificial intelligence is to support the diagnosis of mental illnesses. For example, AI-based models based on various parameters could provide indications as to the direction in which more in-depth diagnostics might be useful and thus facilitate diagnosis. This could be done, for example, by analyzing speech patterns, facial expressions, gestures or physiological data.
AI could also be used in the therapy of trauma sequelae, e.g. as a complement or alternative to conventional psychotherapy. Different methods could be used, such as:
- Virtual Reality (VR): VR makes it possible to recreate traumatic situations in a controlled and safe environment to provide exposure therapy. The VR environment could be adapted by AI to the individual needs and reactions of the patient.
- Avatar therapy: Avatar therapy is a form of conversational psychotherapy in which patients interact with a virtual counterpart controlled by AI. This could, for example, represent a traumatic person with whom the patient can have a dialogue in order to process the experience.
- AI-based software: AI-based software could support therapy for trauma sequelae, for example, by providing personalized feedback, recommendations, or reminders. It could also facilitate documentation and evaluation of therapy.
Ethical issues and challenges
However, the use of AI in trauma therapy also raises ethical issues and challenges that need to be considered. Some of these are:
- Data protection and security: Processing sensitive data about traumatic experiences requires a high level of protection against misuse or unauthorized access. Both technical and legal measures must be taken to protect the privacy and autonomy of patients.
- Quality and effectiveness: The quality and effectiveness of AI-based interventions must be scientifically tested and evaluated before they can be applied in practice. This must also take into account possible side effects or harm that could result from faulty or inappropriate AI.
- Trust and relationship: The relationship between patient and therapist is an essential factor for the success of trauma therapy. Trust, empathy and respect play an important role. How can such a relationship be established and maintained with an AI? How can an AI complement or replace human interaction without replacing or endangering it?
Conclusion
AI offers many opportunities to enhance or expand trauma therapy. However, the ethical aspects and challenges associated with the use of AI in this sensitive area must also be considered. Interdisciplinary collaboration and critical discourse are therefore needed to explore and responsibly shape the opportunities and risks of AI in trauma therapy.
Quantum physics becomes the key to a truly immersive metaverse
This is a steep thesis that is currently voiced by many, but perhaps has a completely different relevance than assumed.
The superficial argument in this context is that quantum computing, by virtue of its sheer computing power, will bring a gigantic push towards realism and thus immersion.
However, I personally (and some studies support this) believe that after a certain point, more realism does not necessarily bring more immersion.
Especially in collaborative applications, another factor plays a much more important role:
👉 It is the latency
In my post yesterday I mentioned that immersion essentially takes place in the intuitive part of our brain. This works almost in real time. Our conscious mind, on the other hand, needs up to 300 milliseconds until it can trigger a movement or other interaction.
If we now imagine the whole thing in a classic collaboration application, whether in the metaverse or in 2D, network latencies of 0.5 to several seconds are added to these 300 milliseconds.
👉 Precisely this problem can be solved by quantum networks:
Here, the states of photons are "entangled". This coupling remains interestingly also over larger distances. If the state of one photon changes, the state of the other changes in parallel. This happens in real time. This is also called quantum teleportation.
Such a network has already been tested, for example, between Shanghai and Beijing over a distance of more than 4000 km.
If such networks were built globally, for example, avatars in Munich could really communicate in real time with avatars in Sidney and Los Angeles and be very close to 100% immersion.
The Metaverse is not about putting on VR glasses. It will touch very many areas of our daily lives and create new spaces.
Putting on a pair of data glasses and then moving quite naturally with an avatar between countless worlds in a three-dimensional Internet in the same way that we switch back and forth between websites today certainly seems outlandish or difficult to imagine for many people at the moment. But experts are convinced that in ten years it will be part of our everyday lives. A large part of our lives, both private and professional, will then take place in the metaverse. There is no doubt that this will be a technological gamechanger of the future.
One of many questions is, for example, what would customers buy in the Metaverse? What are their motives? Are their needs different from those in the real world?
From my point of view, the following 5 points reflect in which areas the metaverse will change our lives the most in the near future:
The Metaverse is a virtual reality that offers many possibilities for the future of work. We can live, work and play in a three-dimensional world. We can customize our avatars, create interactive presentations, design virtual spaces and collaborate on projects.
The metaverse requires new skills and qualifications. We need to learn how to navigate the virtual world, how to communicate and collaborate with others, how to be creative and innovative . We must also consider ethical and legal issues that arise from the Metaverse.
The Metaverse enables new forms of collaboration and learning. We can meet with colleagues, customers and partners from around the world in an immersive environment. We can learn from experts who share their knowledge in virtual courses. We can also gain practical skills by running simulations and scenarios that prepare us for real-world situations.
The metaverse creates new business models and markets. We can offer digital products and services that the real world does not. We can also create and trade digital assets based on blockchain technologies . We can also reach new groups of customers who are active in the Metaverse.
The Metaverse is changing our work culture and our well-being. We can work more flexibly and autonomously by determining our own working hours and locations. We can also have more fun and variety by combining our work with play and leisure elements . But we also need to take care of our mental and physical health by finding a balance between the virtual and the real world .
So the Metaverse is more than just a game or an escape from reality. It is a platform for innovation, creativity and collaboration. It will change the way we work in the coming years and open up new possibilities. Are you ready for the Metaverse?
With about 100 users, the Chinese Metaverse platform Dopai starts its beta phase. Dopai is an important building block in the Chinese Metaverse strategy.
In the future, it will cover all areas of daily life: - public administration - entertainment - medical care - collaboration - industrial metaverse
Dopai is the first platform to implement user vital signs measurement as an integrative part of the application. In addition, AI-driven avatars will enable direct dialogue and interactions.
👉 In the USA alone, the targeted use of metaverse technologies could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10 gigatons by 2050
As much as we are happy that personal meetings, events and business trips are possible again after the pandemic, we should also have learned that many things are dispensable and that the metaverse has good alternatives in store. A good mix of both worlds already helps here.
Collaboration in the metaverse as a hybrid approach is just one example here. Such meetings are more spontaneous than physical meetings and still create a "virtual" proximity.
Current metaverse platforms are very limited in terms of the number of concurrent users that can interact in a space.
Depending on the platform, there are only 40-100 avatars!
One technological approach to break through this limitation should be so-called spatial partitioning. Simply put, the three-dimensional world is broken down into 2D tiles, which are then played out per user via synchronized cloud servers and then reassembled into a 3D world. Theoretically, such a platform can be scaled indefinitely.
In the meantime, however, it has become apparent that the problem lies precisely in the synchronization of the servers(see the current article in MetaGravity)
But exactly this scalability is necessary to be able to really talk about a metaverse in the future and not only about 100*X cloned avatar islands. This does not only apply to games in the metaverse. Also for events like fairs and events an unlimited number of concurrent users is absolutely necessary.
It remains to be seen what technological developments there will be here in the near future, and who the drivers will be.
Based on concrete use cases, the relevance of the metaverse as a technological driver for New Work is presented. It is intended as an inspiration to take the first practical steps in the metaverse today. The technology is there. What is needed now are creative ideas and the courage to start something new.
The book will be available for order at all major booksellers starting Thursday. It will be available as a softcover and eBook:
ISBN Softcover: 978-3-347-81797-5
ISBN e-book: 978-3-347-81806-4
Further information and multimedia background information is available here:
