Cheddar checks out EY's metaverse lab exhibit at SXSW to explore how this tech can help businesses connect with customers and cultivate new ideas.


Making the Metaverse More Accessible

This segment is brought to you by E Y empowering today's leaders to realize tomorrow's opportunities. Well, the metaphors can be a complex concept but E I is finding a way to combine art and technology to make it easier for people to understand. And these practices can be to teach businesses better ways to use the metaverse to connect with their customers and cultivate new ideas. Chene, senior reporter Michelle Castillo visited the EI Metaverse lab exhibit called Ancestral Archives at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas to explore it first hand step inside Ancestral Archives at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. And you'll be immersed in the metaverse. The metaverse is quite simple. It's the internet becomes more 3d, more immersive, more spatial or in other words, a little bit more like how we as humans interact with each other in the physical world. But the generative ai you'll interact with here is trained for the works of black authors, including James Baldwin and Octavia Butler. To my surprise, a lot of the data sets that were being created in for these types of models were actually extremely and intensely Western and European literature centric. This is one of the projects of E I's Metaverse lab at the core of Eli's purpose and vision is around humans at the center and building a better working world. So it's part of our DNA. And this kind of work with artists and bringing art together with technology is an extension of that. Hernan was focused on research and development. When he attended an art and tech meet up, it was like as if someone dropped an intellectual anvil on my head, like I literally walked away and not being able to speak. I was so moved by the way that these people thought about the world, the problems of the world and the intersection between humanity, technology and society. The display evolves depending how many people are in the room. What you see here behind me has taught us a lot about how we can help people identify and represent in these new virtual environments in completely different ways. Another part allows people to ask written questions. The generative A I takes the input from the black authors works to form its response. The answers are meant to be thought provoking. You can really hit people in the head with the data all you want and the numbers and like show them it like as plain as day. But until they have a really visceral experience, you're not going to really move them in the future. Ei and Williams hope to put the exhibit online so everyone can experience the metaverse, even without a V R headset, the way we think about this work for maximum accessibility and maximum impact and to meet people where they are is how do we leverage the devices of today the technology of and how do we build a road map where we can build on those other more futuristic devices as they become more prevalent, this may be art. But ei believes it shows ways companies can push the boundaries of experimentation and innovate in the business space quickly and in ethical ways. If you work with artists in the right way, you bring art and technology together in the right way, there can be a real business value creation. And we're trying to kind of shine a light on a whole new way of collaborating, creating and creating value in Austin, Texas. I'm Michelle Casa. All right. Thanks to Michelle Castillo. It's up by Southwest for that report. This segment brought to you by E I, helping you realize your transformation through the power of people, technology and innovation. Visit E I dot com to learn more.