The setup: You awaken at 6:30 a.m. and don your stylish augmented-reality glasses featuring sleek, minimal frames. As you begin brewing your coffee, a notification appears on the side of your coffee machine, indicating that you’re low on espresso beans. “Would you like to add them to your shopping list?” it inquires.
While stepping outside and unlocking your vehicle, your glasses remind you that it’s time for an oil change. They even offer to set the appointment for you. There’s an opening on Thursday afternoon, and you go ahead and schedule it. Then, you get into your car and drive off to work.
This scenario is a deliberately mundane illustration of how augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality will influence our daily lives. Furthermore, it demonstrates how artificial intelligence (AI) will mold our experiences as extended reality (XR) technologies become increasingly integrated into our everyday activities.
While this narrative may come across as speculative fiction, it’s on the verge of becoming reality, as noted by researchers Alvin Graylin and Louis Rosenberg. Their book, Our Next Reality: How the AI-Powered Metaverse Will Reshape the World, presents a debate on the techno-utopian and dystopian possibilities of XR technology and the role of AI as these experiences are further developed and refined.
Defining the Metaverse and Its Timeline
For Graylin and Rosenberg, the focus is not on the timeline for accessing the metaverse. Instead, it resides in the cultural, financial, and ethical ramifications of technologies that are likely to see widespread adoption in the next decade.
If you enjoy science fiction, you might be familiar with Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash, where users wear virtual-reality goggles to engage with an alternate world, navigating the metaverse as avatars—digital copies of themselves that can be tailored to their liking.
Stephenson’s satirical vision was groundbreaking 32 years ago upon its release. Today, as companies innovate VR and AR experiences for both work and leisure, it is evident that the metaverse is far more than mere futuristic speculation; it is indeed a reality. Augmented reality is already enhancing museum exhibitions, enriching online shopping, and assisting medical professionals during surgeries.
In Stephenson’s portrayal of the metaverse, there exists a subculture of individuals perpetually connected to it, donning wearable devices throughout their day. These individuals have been dubbed “gargoyles” due to their unique appearance while using such gadgets.
If this concept seems unbelievable, consider Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 or Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
Though the Vision Pro presents a bulky and futuristic design, there are also more fashionable smart eyewear options like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Additionally, the tech startup XPANCEO has developed a prototype of smart contact lenses expected to undergo testing in 2026.
AI: Enhancing Daily Life
Creating virtual worlds at scale is a monumental task, and enhancing all our daily interactions is beyond the capacity of human designers alone. This is where AI steps in.
Generative AI—capable of producing content—can deliver a much larger volume of it more rapidly than human creators.
“The physical world is vast. If you truly want to augment it with content, it should be present wherever you go and in everything you encounter. AI-generated content will be predominant,” Rosenberg emphasizes. “Now, it’s feasible to create tailored content at scale that suits individuals and their specific locations.”
“One of the challenges [that has] inhibited XR or VR from genuinely taking off in the last decade has been the lack of content,” Graylin observes. “Without enough content, users aren’t compelled to engage with these technologies daily.” The advent of generative AI may soon provide a seemingly endless supply.
The Future of Marketing in XR
A friend of mine on Facebook recently shared a post about her profession, noting, “I will discover a means to embed unskippable advertisements directly within human experiences.” We are approaching this scenario sooner than we might think. As people increasingly engage with XR technology, it will become an ideal landscape for advertisers to implant their messages directly into our consciousness.
“Meta showcased a demonstration within their glasses just a few months back. You could enter a clothing store and select a pair of shoes,” explains Rosenberg. “The AI recognizes the [shoes] and can recommend a complementary shirt… It’s groundbreaking technology, yet rather unsettling, and we should approach it with caution. We’re poised to allow AI, operated by corporations, to effectively whisper suggestions into our ears throughout the day, analyzing our actions and perceptions, potentially shaping our reality. That’s a significant level of control to relinquish.”
AI in Advertising
Conversely, advertising could evolve into being managed by an AI agent—a digital assistant capable of conducting product research and shopping on our behalf. While some may resist surrendering their privacy completely, there are situations where the advantages of personalization may surpass the drawbacks of privacy loss.
“I foresee a future where individuals may assert, ‘I’m okay with this AI having access to my information, but I want my privacy from all other AIs,’” Graylin predicts. “This AI serves as my eyes. It’s like my agent who shops for me [or] attends meetings on my behalf.”
Initially, when social media emerged, users’ reluctance to pay for these services spurred the current advertising model of data collection. As the metaverse evolves, our roles as consumers may need to adapt to prevent advertisers from probing too deeply into our online activities and interactions.
“If the AI solutions we employ are designed around business models focused on data accumulation and selling influence, they’ll be targeted and more impactful than anything we’ve seen in social media,” Rosenberg points out. “It’s essential that consumers advocate for privacy.”
Shaping the Future
The online landscape is currently buzzing with discussions regarding AI’s potential effects on our work lives and the prospect of job loss—and rightly so.
Over recent years, the proliferation of AI capabilities that can generate authentic-looking text and visuals has led to an overwhelming influx of evidence that AI may take on function and workload traditionally performed by humans.
At the conclusion of Our Next Reality: How the AI-Powered Metaverse Will Reshape the World, there’s a section dedicated to advice for policymakers, industry leaders, students, and law enforcement. Leaders especially must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of technology tailored for their fields and make informed decisions that improve operational efficiency.
Productivity and the Role of AI
“Ensure your staff is well-versed in the technology,” Graylin advises. “However, it’s also vital to recognize that [just] because productivity improves, it doesn’t mean that immediately downsizing your team is the correct step. Many organizations make that mistake, which can lead to upheaval in the labor market, resulting in negative repercussions that echo throughout.”
Rosenberg adds, “My primary suggestion for anyone fearful of AI is to engage with the technology. Whether you perceive it as a threat or not, being informed and making well-considered decisions is crucial.”
So, should we be anxious about technology potentially usurping our jobs? Or is it time to rethink our understanding of work entirely? Technology will keep advancing. As the way we work evolves, labor itself could take on an entirely new significance.
“Ultimately, the purpose of technology is to boost our productivity exponentially,” Graylin states. “If that holds true, we should be able to reduce the hours we need to work and focus on pursuits that bring us joy and fulfillment.”
