Going forward, everyone has a sidekick.
If movies like star wars, Wall-EWhere The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy learn something is that at some point we are meant to have a digital companion, who not only is on board, but knows us more intimately than virtually anyone else. This is exactly what Dimension Studio is building with Metashima.
Metashima is an artificial intelligence virtual companion built by Yush Kalia and Simon Windsor of Dimension Studio, whose credits include Balenciaga, Sony and Disney. Originally sold as 4,720 NFTs, Metashima hopes to expand its reach into movies, comics, and other forms of world-building IP both virtual and physical.
“Yush and I have been working in mixed reality as baby steps into the metaverse for about 10 years,” Windsor told Highsnobiety. “In 2010, we launched one of the first augmented reality platforms for the iPhone 3 and the first generation iPad. Previously, we had to explain the technology to customers and paint a picture of the future.
While tablets and smartphones don’t need much explanation now, the future of how we use them to move between virtual and physical worlds is still a sandbox.
In fact, Windsor and Kalia took inspiration from Metashima when thinking about the potential of mixed realities. With technologies such as AR filters becoming more mainstream, bringing together a mix of emerging technologies with an AI sidekick seemed practical.
“Going forward, the metaverse means a mixed reality experience,” Windsor added.
“You would have this virtual companion and this intelligence that would travel with you and give you new uses, increasing your own human capacities.”
When asked what the difference is between this and other virtual assistants like Alexa, Dimension Studio pointed out that personalization is a crucial part of the experience.
“Our vision is to be an intelligent two-way relationship.” Kalia said.
“When you use things like Alexa at home, it’s ‘ask a question, get a standard answer.’ Metashima lives in an AI environment. We want it to learn your behavior, what interests you, different aspects of your personality or how you have engaged with them in the past.That way it doesn’t become a one-way interaction.
To customize AI for mixed reality, Dimension Studio first views Metashima as a physical product. Customization is key: owners will be able to train Metashima to help him improve both IRL and online.
For example, Metashima can study how you play video games and give hints on how to improve. As the project was built on Unreal (the same 3D engine used for Fortnite and the witcher), interoperability is another important point.
For the first phase of development, Metashima will be online-only, with the primary goal of being able to move between digital worlds, which, with the inclusion of AI, could be a catalyst for integrating more people into the metaverse. .
“We are big science fiction fans. We grew up with Dr Who, star wars, i robotclassic Pixar stuff like Wall-E, and everything else in between. It is very difficult to achieve these sci-fi aspirations in a physical world, but in a virtual world, it is entirely possible for us to design and create companion robots with AI.
Although it will be a while before we have the CP30 on our side, Metashima provides a virtual companion that really cares about how you feel. As we spend more time in inorganic digital spaces, Metashima’s personal touch will feel increasingly essential.