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    Enterprise Transformation to Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse: Strategies for the Technology Revolution: Navigating Future Technologies with Agility and Innovation
    Enterprise Transformation to Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse: Strategies for the Technology Revolution: Navigating Future Technologies with Agility and Innovation
    Enterprise Transformation to Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse: Strategies for the Technology Revolution: Navigating Future Technologies with Agility and Innovation
    Ebook525 pages5 hours

    Enterprise Transformation to Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse: Strategies for the Technology Revolution: Navigating Future Technologies with Agility and Innovation

    By Mercury Learning and Information and William Kimmerly

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    About this ebook

    This book guides organizations in effectively responding to the metaverse, a rapidly converging collection of advanced technologies, methods, and models. The metaverse is poised to be as disruptive as the personal computer, Internet, and smartphone, impacting personal, social, professional, and business lives. The book covers essential metaverse technologies and concepts, helping organizational leaders plan their transformation strategies.
    The journey begins with an introduction and key definitions, followed by the evolution of IT governance and responses to disruptive technologies. It delves into AI, machine learning, blockchain, platforms, algorithms, edge computing, quantum computing, and immersive technologies like VR, AR, MR, and XR. Further chapters explore holographic technologies, deep tech, and other metaverse-related technologies, along with organizational structures and governance frameworks for the metaverse era.
    Understanding these concepts is crucial for navigating the metaverse transformation. The book concludes with a detailed hypothetical case study, illustrating how such a transformation can be achieved. This resource helps executives and professionals chart an effective course to the metaverse, blending theoretical insights with practical applications.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPackt Publishing
    Release dateAug 7, 2024
    ISBN9781836649724
    Enterprise Transformation to Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse: Strategies for the Technology Revolution: Navigating Future Technologies with Agility and Innovation

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      Enterprise Transformation to Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse - Mercury Learning and Information

      Preface

      This book provides guidance on how organizations can respond effectively to a rapidly converging collection of advanced technologies, methods, and models often referred to as the metaverse. The arrival of the metaverse will likely lead to one of the most disruptive eras in modern history. We will see our personal, social, professional, and business lives change just as dramatically as we experienced with the arrival of the Internet, smart phone, and personal computer.

      Metaverse technologies are emerging much more rapidly than most of us expected. Organizations around the world are being caught by surprise and are not sure how to react. We can see this clearly when we look at just one component of the metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI). The explosive emergence in 2022 of generative AI capabilities, like ChatGPT, provides a stark preview of what lies ahead for organizations. AI could, within a decade, transform most processes used within companies, as well as the products and services they provide. Most workers, from executive management to the learned professional ranks, to the shop floor, will be affected.

      There’s more. Quantum computing is another rapidly emerging metaverse technology that could be just as disruptive as AI, if not more so. The combination of AI and quantum computing is awesome to contemplate and will have to be seen to be believed.

      The challenge for all organizations is becoming clear: Adapt or perish. Inaction is not a viable option.

      History has shown that some of the most challenging periods faced by organizational leaders have arisen during the hectic and confusing intervals between the maturing and stabilizing of one technological era and the emergence of the next. Many organizations are slow to react to these new disruptions. They struggle to find solid footing in the changing competitive landscapes caused by these disruptions. Some don’t survive the transition. This historical pattern is likely to be repeated as the metaverse era evolves.

      However, history has also shown that a few leaders are able to detect early on the general nature of such a disruption, and they develop a quick appreciation for the potential opportunities. This allows them to move swiftly and boldly to embrace the disruption and profit from it. (Consider, for example, Jeff Bezos’s response to the Internet’s disruption.) These kinds of leaders realize the major shifts taking place in the technological landscape are making their current business models, which were designed for the prior era, outdated. So they adjust.

      The critical challenge for today’s leaders, therefore, is how to lead their organizations through a timely and successful transformation to the metaverse so they can benefit from and not be sidelined by this latest technology revolution. They should be asking questions such as, What enterprise qualities or attributes do we need to develop to survive and prosper in this new era? How quickly do we need to act? What are the most important initial actions?

      Among the critical attributes required for organizational success in the metaverse are enhanced agility, adaptability, and speed; a more streamlined, flatter, and networked structure and business model; and deep expertise in metaverse technologies and methods. To transition effectively into the metaverse and develop these attributes, there are three specific areas that should be addressed early on. These actions, which are discussed in detail in this book, should be taken before any large-scale attempt is made to incorporate specific metaverse-era technologies and methods into existing business models and technology strategies. All three actions are interdependent and must be addressed collectively and simultaneously. These actions include the following:

      ■Ensure the organization has a cohesive, technology-savvy, open-minded, and nimble enterprise governance structure in place. This includes the board of directors and the organization’s executive-level structure. Complex challenges, as well as compelling new opportunities, will soon be coming at these leaders in rapid succession. They need to be able to sense the opportunities and threats, and perform as a well-prepared, fast-acting, and unified team.

      ■Ensure that the organization has an updated approach to developing and using one of the most important tools for effective enterprise governance and strategic planning, a new-era enterprise architecture (EA). A new-era EA is one built on advanced metaverse technologies, such as AI and machine learning. This makes the EA more user friendly (more conversational), more relevant to more employees, and more easily managed and updated. Without access to such a comprehensive and robust central information repository and decision support tool, the complexity of the transformation challenge and the speed of change will likely overwhelm any transformation effort. For many organizations, the development of such an EA will be an overlooked focus area. They will ultimately have to pay the price.

      ■In parallel with other transformation actions, ensure that the organization has begun the transformation of the central IT services organization into a structure better suited to a highly agile, networked organizational model. In the metaverse era, central IT will require a new structure, new skills, and a new way of providing services. Therefore, it should begin its transformation in concert with overall enterprise transformation.

      In addition to discussing these three action areas in detail, this book also discusses some of the most important metaverse technologies, concepts, and methods organizational leaders need to understand as they begin to map out their metaverse transformation plans. These discussions are followed by detailed chapters on the main elements of an effective enterprise transformation initiative, concluding with a detailed hypothetical case study that describes how such a transformation can be accomplished.

      In summary, helping executives and other professionals chart an effective course to the metaverse is the central purpose of this book. The guidance provided by this book reflects over 45 years of professional and senior executive experience by the author in areas such as enterprise architectures, enterprise strategic plans, information technology roadmaps, enterprise transformations, technology gatekeeping, technology adoption and assimilation, and systems analysis and development.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I want to thank Kat Regala for discovering me and for providing invaluable editing support. I also want to thank my editor, Jim Walsh, for encouraging me to write this book and for being so accommodating throughout the process.

      W. Kimmerly

      October 2023

      BOOK OVERVIEW AND KEY CONCEPTS

      INTRODUCTION

      1.1 THE METAVERSE IS CLOSER THAN WE MIGHT THINK

      In late 2022 and early 2023, the release of the AI-based generative bot, ChatGPT, became an instant international phenomenon. It was followed quickly by the release of many similar products by companies such as Meta and Salesforce. Early users were amazed by what this technology was able to do. To many, it seemed almost human in its capabilities, and in some respects, such as speed and breadth of information, it was vastly superior to humans. The range of applications to which this technology was applied was extensive, touching all major industries within a short period of time.

      But as impressive as these bots were (and are), flaws in the initial models soon became apparent. For example, sometimes they would cite references, such as legal precedents, that they had simply made up. These lapses were called hallucinations.

      The awesome power of this technology soon began to concern many, including government officials, influential industry observers, sociologists, and technology experts. For example, there was concern over the possibility that artificial intelligence (AI) could transform entire industries, maybe even economies, and cause millions of people to lose their jobs, all before anyone was even remotely prepared for these kinds of consequences.

      There was also concern about the use of AI for dangerous and nefarious purposes, such as fake podcasts, videos, and new stories presenting famous people in compromising, humiliating, or damaging situations. Even though these fake uses were contrived and completely false, many observers considered them to be absolutely real. Could this technology make it almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in the future, and if so, what could be the consequences?

      These concerns led many governments and renowned business and technology luminaries to call for a moratorium of six months to a year on the development and use of AI technology. This time was needed, they said, for the tech industry to get a better handle on the technology and establish safeguards to prevent its misuse.

      However, even in light of all of these issues, ChatGPT remained one of the most important tech stories of 2023 and an endless source of fascination for millions, including thousands of organizations that have already put this technology to productive use. As has been true for many other tech innovations, the expectation is that this technology will continue to improve over time, adding new capabilities and resolving early issues and limitations.

      AI is not new, of course. The concept of AI has been researched and discussed for decades. In fact, the basic technology was already in use in applications for years (Siri, for example) before ChatGPT appeared. Until then, most of us had underestimated how developed technologies such as AI and machine learning were, how rapidly they were evolving, and how deeply disruptive they would be.

      More to Come

      As important as it is, AI is only one component of a much larger collection of rapidly converging technologies that many are calling the metaverse (see Figure 1.1). Just as people were surprised by ChatGPT, organizations run a high risk of being blindsided by the speed and impact of the collection of metaverse technologies now bearing down on them. Unfortunately, organizations will not be able to demand a twelve-month metaverse moratorium to allow them to study the metaverse and get better prepared for such a major disruption. Therefore, the time to prepare for the metaverse is now. The purpose of this book is to provide guidance on how this can be done.

      FIGURE 1.1 Converging technologies are driving the metaverse.

      1.2 THE METAVERSE: AN OVERVIEW

      Research by leading industry analysis firms has revealed a growing global business interest in the metaverse and the expectation that by the middle of the 2020s metaverse technologies will have significant influence of the daily lives of people around the world. [Accenture23]

      No Consensus Definition

      There is no widely accepted or sanctioned definition of the term metaverse, although there are numerous suggested definitions and descriptions. A typical description goes something like this: The metaverse is a converging collection of technological innovations that are providing highly immersive 3D experiences and blockchain-based solutions to users via a next generation Internet. For the purposes of this book, the term metaverse is meant to convey a broader reality. For example, many have suggested the metaverse is already establishing the basis for Industrial Revolution 4.0. If that is true, and to some extent it probably is, the metaverse is not only about immersive technologies. The concept also includes the business and societal advances these technologies are enabling, such as new business models, new technology-based solutions, new forms of social interactions, a new era of scientific breakthroughs, new industries, and even new economies, much like the Internet economy that was formed with the advent of the Internet. These sweeping changes in their totality is the real reason almost all organizations should be planning now to transform to the metaverse.

      Two Important Attributes

      Much of the focus of the metaverse centers on the central theme of replacing today’s flat Internet, with its 2D text, video, and other images, with one that is 3D in nature, highly decentralized, and deeply immersive. This new version of the Internet is often referred to as Web 3.0. Experts are confident Web 3.0 will be as disruptive when it arrives as were the emergence of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

      Another essential feature of the metaverse will be the further blending of our digital and physical worlds. This means we will see users interacting increasingly with technology from inside an application rather than from the outside looking in. As a result, the technologies and methods that comprise the metaverse will transform, in fundamental ways, how we experience and interact with our environments, both business and personal. Many of the constraints now imposed by physical locations will be lifted as 3D reconstructions of objects, including humans, can be located or co-located with other physical objects almost anywhere. It follows that these changes will have a significant impact on the way companies design and conduct their business operations.

      Current Status of the Metaverse

      Just as there is no generally accepted definition of the metaverse, there are a variety of perspectives concerning when the era began, where it is presently positioned on its evolutionary path, and how long it will remain relevant before being displaced by the next technology wave.

      One of the more widely-cited timelines of metaverse evolution is offered by Gartner Inc., which hypothesizes a three-phase evolutionary path. (See, for example, the May 11, 2022 article by Shawn Johnson titled How the Metaverse Will Evolve, which breaks down the Gartner timeline. [Johnson22]) As the metaverse evolves through these various phases, consistent with the historical seven to eight-year life cycles of other major technological innovations, the next technological era (perhaps The Quantumverse), will most likely have begun.

      Overall, the general consensus is the metaverse era is well underway in certain critical areas, like AI, machine learning, and augmented reality, and will probably establish its position in industry as a bona fide new era by 2026. It could maintain that position for a decade or more, which is a relatively long period for any dominant technology era to prevail. If the metaverse era has already begun, organizations need to pay close attention to it now. Many organizations are already playing catch up.

      The converging technologies that are defining the metaverse, as well as current-era technologies, such as AI, the cloud, mobile, and the Internet of Things, are already being assembled into platforms having the power, speed, and intelligence to solve problems that were previously considered too difficult to tackle. Technological innovations like quantum computing and AI enable tests and experiments to be conducted in a fraction of the time required using older technologies and methods. This can shorten some research projects by years. In addition, these newer technologies and algorithms are able to process vast quantities of structured and unstructured data quickly, leading to more lifelike and realistic experiments.

      The scope of metaverse applications already in production use is impressive. A few categories include oil and gas exploration and extraction, healthcare, medical training, games, working environments, tourism, real estate, education, fashion, shopping, and social networks/entertainment. In addition, as the convergence process continues, especially as quantum computing continues to mature, organizations will be able to take on some of the grand challenges of our time in such areas as medicine, climate change, rising sea levels, energy, fresh water scarcity, and agriculture.

      Therefore, even without an accepted, formal definition of the metaverse, we can already see its major contours. We can foresee an era wherein converging technologies, such as AI, machine learning, virtual reality, augmented reality, edge computing, and quantum computing are being used to better integrate our physical and digital (or quantum) worlds. We can see this, for example, in 3-D virtual and augmented reality environments. These environments can be used for entertainment, business, engineering, and scientific purposes. In this new environment, we will soon be able to conduct business, visit remote locations, and access educational opportunities in environments mediated by technological advances in new and immersive ways.

      Not Without Its Challenges

      As is true for all new technological eras, some negatives always accompany the positives. For example, as each major new era begins to exert its influence, jobs can be eliminated, businesses and even entire industries can become obsolete, people can experience psychological problems, new forms of crime often emerge, and societal behaviors change. The metaverse is not likely to avoid these kinds of issues. Already, even before the metaverse and all of its vivid and immersive reality fully arrives, there are large numbers of people addicted to computer games, cell phones, and social media, sometimes to the detriment of their physical and mental health. Much has been written about the correlation, even causation, between social media and rising mental health problems among teenagers. Some people lose the need for any real social interactions at all because real ones no longer seem as interesting, exciting, or rewarding as the virtual ones. We can only imagine the potential risks segments of society will face as these virtual experiences become even richer and more vibrant and lifelike.

      We can also envision the metaverse increasing the digital divide that already exists. No one has a clear picture of the costs that might be entailed in gearing up to take advantage of the capabilities offered by the metaverse. Even with the steadily improving price-performance curve for digital technology, the cost to participate in the metaverse might prove prohibitively expensive for many in society, which would in turn raise serious ethical and fairness concerns for some governments. For example, what if certain segments of society are able to obtain far superior healthcare and live longer lives through the use of advanced metaverse technologies, while other segments cannot afford the use of these methods? This same condition might be an issue for education as well. Numerous serious public policy issues could arise, and probably will, in a variety of areas.

      As is true with all technological advances, thieves, hackers, and other lawbreakers will very quickly find ways to leverage these advances for their own purposes. There are likely going to be unpredictable holes in the technology where personal privacy can be breached. We have to be mindful of the degree to which the daily life of individuals might become available to overzealous organizations (marketeers, solicitors, pollsters, and retailers) in the metaverse. This goes far beyond the simple shopping profiles and cookie-tracking issues of today, and might easily get into the more esoteric areas of illicitly capturing brain waves, body movements, and eye movements in response to, for example, viewing certain online ads.

      History of Changing User Relationships to Technology: From Remote to Immersive

      As noted earlier, one of the more important aspects of the metaverse phenomenon relates to how users have interacted with technology during different eras over the past several decades and how they will interact with it in the future.

      For example, as shown in Figure 1.2, we can begin by going back to the early days of computing technology, say the 1950s through the 1960s. This was an era when mainframes were the primary types of computers available, aside from mechanical tabulating machines. In those days, the direct beneficiaries (or users) of the computing power of mainframes were completely remote, both physically and conceptually, from the actual computing action. All of the computing process steps and related people and equipment were typically housed away from the general public.

      FIGURE 1.2 The gap between users and technology continues to narrow.

      Figure 1.2 shows that, after a transitional period of rudimentary networking of dumb terminals in the 1970s, the 1980s brought us the personal computer (PC) revolution. At that time, users were beginning to have more direct interactions with computing technology. PCs were typically placed on users’ desks or on tables at work or at home. There was associated with this form of technology an immediate, tactile connection between the user and the technology via a mouse, keyboard, or by touching the PC’s screen. Not long afterwards, laptops and tablets arrived, so users could carry the computing technology wherever they went.

      Even with the increased availability and usage of PCs and laptops, users were still conceptually distant from technology. Basically, the doors to the mainframe rooms had been opened partially, and users had more direct access to, and control over, computing assets. However, there was still a functional distance to be closed. Users were not yet immersed in technology. That was about to change.

      Technological advances in the 1990s and early 2000s, most notably the Internet, smartphones, and social media, changed major industries, most businesses, and the daily lives of billions of people. The combination of these technological advances began the process of surrounding people with technology, often on a 24x7 basis, both in their work lives and their social lives. Today, countless people live good portions of their daily lives encapsulated by Facebook, Twitter (recently rebranded as X), texts, email, and other social media, including being attached to their smartphones as if they have become bodily appendages. A substantial portion of consumer commerce has been increasingly carried out over the Internet, via Amazon for example. To live in the industrialized world in the early 21st century was to be surrounded by, and to some degree immersed in, technology.

      Now, another disruptive change is coming, one that will be even more immersive for users of technology. This includes both direct users and indirect users (those who will be affected by technology, despite no direct action on their part). That change is, of course, what is now being called the metaverse. In this new era, the kinds of connections users have with technology will be even more personal and immersive.

      For example, assume you have always wanted to visit the Louvre in Paris, but could never make that happen. Of course, you can visit the museum in a 2D way via books and images on a computer screen. However, that is a limited experience. In the metaverse, the expectation is that the Louvre experience can be brought to you in 3D imagery so vivid it is almost like being there. You will be able to walk around and explore the exhibits just like any other visitor. You will have left your physical world and entered a virtual world. You will have become fully immersed in this technology-based environment and yet be completely oblivious to the technology. In this example, all you will see is the museum and its contents. You will also be able to hear realistic background sounds, just as if you are actually there. You can easily imagine how this one metaverse solution model could affect industries such as travel, hospitality, museums, electronics, and real estate.

      Medical training serves as another metaverse immersion example. Medical students typically obtain 2D information from books, computer screens, classroom presentation images on larger screens, and even chalkboards and white boards. However, to fully understand how the body functions, medical students have traditionally been assigned cadavers to work on. While cadavers do provide an immersive experience for medical students, this practice is expensive and cumbersome for hospitals and medical schools. In the future, cadavers will most likely take the form of 3D reconstructions of real human bodies that can be used over and over endlessly without suffering any damage. For medical students, this will be an engaging experience, not only because the 3D reconstruction provides vivid imagery but because it also allows students to experience, or feel, physical sensations through advanced haptic technology. As students become fully immersed in working on these digital reconstructions, there will be no real sense of working with technology at all, but one of working with a real body. In a true sense, their physical and digital worlds will have been blended. Several universities and some major hospitals are already doing work in this area.

      Staying within the medical realm for another example, consider what it might be like to have a 3D reconstructed avatar or hologram of your own body. Then consider having that avatar populated with your own medical data, vital readings, and medications. Working closely with your physician, either in a medical facility or from home, you would be able to diagnose problems, in an AI-aided way, and observe the effects of various treatment options. There are already countless professionally-refereed medical and scientific papers on the general topic of 3D reconstruction applications in medicine, such as Detailed 3D human body reconstruction from multi-view images combining voxel super-resolution and learned implicit representation [Li et al.22].

      1.3 THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERGENCE AND SYNTHESIS

      When the major technologies in widespread use today (e.g., the Internet, mobile, and cloud computing) first emerged, they soon converged with each other and with older technologies in highly synergistic ways. As this happened, we were able to see the pace of change quickening, with the intervals between a new normal becoming shorter. This pattern is expected to continue as we move into the metaverse. This means many organizations, especially those that are less nimble and resilient, could soon find themselves attempting to compete in an environment for which their existing business models were not designed.

      The powerful impact of the technology convergence process cannot be overstated. Consider the game-changing innovations that have already emerged from the technological convergence phenomenon. For example, the smartphone was basically the result of converging into one platform other well-established technologies at the time, such as software algorithms, a mobile phone, an MP3 player, a camera, and an Internet connection capability. The resulting converged product changed the way most of the world communicated, took photographs, accessed the Internet, and listened to music. It also provided a new opportunity for entrepreneurs around the world. Some have used the smartphone to start new businesses or upgrade and extend or enhance their existing lines of business. New livelihoods were created for countless app developers. There is a strong likelihood the converging technological innovations driving the metaverse will have similar impacts on the world.

      1.4 AN IMPORTANT NEW PHASE OF THE DIGITAL AGE

      Many of the highly disruptive technological innovations we take for granted today were once poorly understood and often dismissed initially as passing fads. These groundbreaking innovations have evolved over the last several decades through a series of fairly distinct eras or phases (e.g., the PC era). As each new phase emerged, a corresponding zone of disruption also emerged. These disruptive zones overlapped the intersections between older, more established technology eras and the new phases (see Figure 1.3).

      FIGURE 1.3 Major technological eras

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