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VirtualSpeech uses ChatGPT in VR simulations for soft skills training

The Immersive Wire - 16 January 2023 (Monday Briefing)

I analyse the metaverse every Monday, recapping the most important stories. Join 5,000 other professionals and subscribe to upskill yourself:

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

  • Headlines: Ready Player Me is working with Unstoppable Domains to create interoperable digital identities (analysis below).

  • Call for entries: Cannes XR 2023 is now open for applications.

  • Article: I took a deep dive into generative AI and the metaverse, and identified where we are going. Long story short, it's a promising start with a ways to go. I also looked into harassment in the metaverse.

  • Conversation-starter: Speaking of generative AI, VirtualSpeech incorporated ChatGPT into VR simulations (analysis below).

  • Other stories: Estee Lauder is helping the visually impaired via AR, L'Oréal unveiled Brow Magic, and Roblox may come to VR later this year (more below).

  • Community insights: 77% of readers believe that the Vive XR Elite will not sell well.

    • “In the absence of a rich content ecosystem, any VR headset above $500 is unlikely to sell well (as in millions of units).” - Mitko Yankov, Metasim.

Community question:

Will generative AI disrupt the metaverse this year, or is it overhyped fluff?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Harry's new book, Spare, reads like a countryside thriller novel. It's a fascinating insight into the royal family, though it has more penises than I expected. Also, I spoke to the BBC about working in the metaverse last week.

- Tom Ffiske, Editor of the Immersive Wire

Analysis

Ready Player Me is working with Unstoppable Domains to create digital identities that work across multiple platforms and games.

  • Looks quite expansive already. By working together, users can access over 6,000 of Ready Player Me’s applications, alongside Unstoppable’s 650 partner apps.

  • It's an early sign of a persistent digital identity across locations. We already see versions of this; people can use a Google account to sign into multiple websites (for a data-related price). A web3 version of the same idea has potential. Ready Player Me is well-positioned based on its underlying partnerships, and this one is an expansion of its approach.

VirtualSpeech incorporated ChatGPT into VR simulations to help with soft skills training.

  • The ChatGPT bot responds to what people were saying, which is then played back via a synthesised voice. Nerves and anxiety can be replicated as well.

  • We will see a few platforms incorporate these models this year. It's an easier way to learn soft skills, where someone can have a conversation with another being and 'feel' like they pass the Turing test (even if a few issues will slip through the cracks).

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Other notable stories

Got stories? Do let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

  • Digital Village, a platform for creating virtual worlds, announced $4m in strategic funding.

  • Estee Lauder unveiled capabilities to help visually impaired people apply makeup via AR.

  • FitXR announced two new workout studios - Sculpt and Combat.

  • L'Oréal unveiled Brow Magic, which uses AR to print brows onto the user's face.

  • Mastercard released a new AR experience to see Miami's Design District.

  • Meta will end updates for the original Quest next year.

  • Microsoft receives $40m to fix flaws in headsets for the US Army, but more will not be bought.

  • Pearson announced a partnership with XR Bootcamp, to prototype VR language learning games.

  • Remio announced that its remote team building and collab platform will launch on 26 January in the Meta Store.

  • Roblox may come to Meta Quest headsets later this year.

  • SimX secured a multi-year grant from the US Space Force.

  • Sounding Wild is doing a tour of its spatial audio demo.

    • I loved this. It basically uses an array of speakers to immerse people and connect them with nature. Worth a go if it rolls up into your area.

  • Vertigo Games announced that VR puzzle-platformer PathCraft will come to Meta Quest 2 on 19 January.

  • VRARA Storytelling Forum is happening 2 March.

Help corner

Need some assistance from other readers? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

  • Connor Todd is a Sales Professional and MA Media & Business graduate, and is looking to work on metaverse and XR projects from a communication, promotion and sales standpoint. He also has sales and marketing experience across a number of industries, including luxury goods, renewable energy and newspaper advertising. Find out more. 

That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to the newsletter, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!