Value Added Abstracts
Emory craig
Abstract
The convergence of immersive technologies (XR) with artificial intelligence (AI) will have a profound impact on culture and society. XR is not just another media form, but a rapidly evolving space for (virtual) human experience. Using AI, we will have the ability to create intensely realistic virtual environments and responsive avatars. These developments will reshape human experience and social interactions across multiple areas, including business, education, and entertainment. We already see early glimpses of this future in interactive experiences such as Fable's Wolves in the Walls and Magic Leap's AI avatar, Mica. But how will we address the ethical challenges of AI-driven avatars in virtual worlds? Could embodied avatars eventually seem more helpful than humans? More trustworthy? More threatening? What will happen when anyone can create an avatar that looks like anybody alive (or who has ever lived) and animate that avatar to do whatever they'd like? What obligations do AI developers have to consider and shape the long term social consequences of their work? As we move from coding platforms to the creation of virtual worlds and avatars, are we ready for embodied AI?