AI has always been associated with the metaverse. The earliest cyberpunk novels included autonomous programs that roamed virtual worlds. These ranged from service bots that automated simple tasks, concierges that acted as a speaker for users, to all-out intelligent companions.

In terms of actual implementation, virtual worlds have been utilizing different forms of AI for decades now.

It is used for Non-Player Characters (NPCs), from movement to behavior and more complex motivational systems.

There is also procedurally generated content to create effectively infinite amounts of environments and details based on algorithms.

Machine learning has been used to adapt the difficulty or interface for players to create more inclusive experiences.

And now with the recent large scale generative AI models, we can push further into creating better NPCs, content, and systems.

But whenever I start to write about AI in relation to the history of the metaverse, it spirals out of control.

One issue is that is requires a lot of explanation: What a specific approach is used for, and it’s limitations. There is a stark difference in what metaverse pop culture artifacts like books and movies describe, and what AI is actually used for in reality. To keep both apart I’d need to be precise in what I am writing about.

It’s also a quite technical topic and I want the book to contain as little technical jargon as possible. Writing about AI added so much technical background, depth, and detail that it just didn’t fit the overall flow.

And while there is SO MUCH cool things to talk about, unfortunately they don’t really drive forward the story how metaverse narratives evolved over time. It’s more interesting in the context of how the metaverse was built.

So, I figured I could just write another book specifically about AI and the metaverse – if there is an actual demand for it. You know, “Later™”.

But for now, the book will retain it’s focus on the metaverse narrative, not on implementation.