If you think AI-powered content and synthetic media are mainly used to create deepfakes – you should quickly catch up. Here comes the future of content creation that will power the virtual environment – the metaverse.
“What is the metaverse?” is a bit like asking someone in 1995, “What is the Internet?”. According to technology experts, it’s far more ubiquitous and powerful than anything else, and many companies are thinking about what it can actually do for their brands and what their brand can do in the metaverse.
Certainly metaverse has great potential to keep your brand relevant to existing customers and attract new ones, especially from Gen Z and Gen Alpha. It’s not so much about the devices they’ll use – AR glasses or new generations of smartphones – but how you can connect with users and tell them your story. All because the metaverse is fundamentally disrupting one process that every brand needs: content creation.
If today we are seeing the lines between physical and virtual experiences blur, the metaverse will blur the lines between different virtual experiences. It will allow creators to make more interactive and immersive content. Today’s TikTokers and Instagrammers will be able to create digital representations of themselves, recreate environments of their homes and studios, and interact with fans and other viewers in new and deeper ways. Thanks to AI-powered no-code tools and synthetic media, the way we create and consume news will change.
Let’s dive into the most crucial innovations with industry experts: Martin Taylor and Ian Beacraft.
Immersive content of metaverse
“As a brand leader, you need to understand that there is a growing trend toward co-created interactive story and character-led worlds. This isn’t about a one-off PR stunt – it’s about your brand gaining trust and giving this valuable future market a creative sandbox to play in,” says Martin Taylor, multi-award winning creative director and co-founder of Prox & Reverie, who will also be a guest speaker at the 2022 Masters&Robots Conference in September.
Soon, creators will not only produce content for others to consume, but also create the means by which users interact with it and immerse in it. Performance, visitor attractions or tourism companies have already tried it in recent years with things like 360-degree tours or interactive TV series (remember Netflix’s “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch”?). This virtual boom has definitely whetted the appetite for more such entertainment, and it’s going to come.
“Unlike the dystopian view of the metaverse, these new experiences are likely to be a blend of the best of the real and imagined worlds,” says Martin Taylor. “The brands that understand this and understand their audience will be the ones who succeed in the long term”.
AI-assisted tools
This immersive and interactive content in the metaverse will depend on the tools available to creators – and here, too, we can expect a revolution. “Until recently, creating content in virtual reality required complex toolsets and skills – now it’s much easier thanks to AI-assisted no-code tools that help creators design and distribute AR effects,” says Ian Beacraft, chief futurist at Signal and Cipher Agency, who helps brands navigate Web3, blockchain, and the metaverse. Ian Beacraft will also be a guest speaker at the 2022 Masters&Robots conference.
As he explains, AI-assisted tools will enable creators to translate high-level visions (“design a cat in a sphere”) into consumer-ready content. That literally means creating new worlds – and that’s already happening. Thanks to AI-powered platforms, users can build and furnish a room with their voice, instructing the platform to move furniture, hang pictures on the walls, and even allow the AI to suggest changes or finish the design.
Synthetic media
The idea of using algorithms to manipulate or create media isn’t new. Machine-assisted creativity is best known for bringing us deepfakes – manipulated images and videos that cause chaos and disinformation. But as with any technology, it can be both harmful and beneficial. Modern advances in computer science and innovative tools can help create great things – and strengthen your brand.
Synthetic media – video, images, text and voice generated in whole or in part by computers – accelerate creative expression and narrow the gap between idea and content. The evolution of machine learning combined with natural language processing and AI-powered translation make content translation a breeze. This, in turn, allows brands and creatives to spread their messages globally and to different audiences. David Beckham “speaks” 9 languages in a new campaign to fight malaria thanks to technology developed by Synthesia AI. Book authors disseminate their stories in foreign languages, taking into account cultural nuances, or create natural-sounding audio versions of their text pieces.
How we made David Beckham speak 9 languages
Synthetic media goes even further – today we’re able to create “synthetic beings” from a single image. “In the metaverse, we’ll soon have multiple virtual avatars of ourselves. We’ll literally be able to digitize ourselves,” says Ian Beacraft. Digitized pop stars and influencers will interact with their fans, and people will buy tickets to their performances and interact with them. We’ve already seen this kind of interaction with Marshmello’s live concert in Fortnite, which was watched by more than 10 million people.
Metaverse can be a gateway for your brand
The metaverse can be a gateway for you – allowing you to enter new markets, reach new audiences, and connect with your customers in entirely new ways. “If a central company gains control of it, it will be more powerful than any government and a god on earth,” said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. It will be similar to Inception, where your dream is also the architect’s dream. “It’s a sort of a loop effect, and once we get to that instant loop, you’ll be able to create anything – it will initiate an entirely new form of media,” added Martin Taylor.
You, too, can be part of this with your brand – changing the perception of reality with entirely new forms of creative expression. If you want to learn more about how to do this and what the future of AI and content looks like, join us at the Masters&Robots conference, where both Martin Taylor and Ian Beacraft will be giving talks on the metaverse. Tickets are still available – do not wait and book your place here.