As we stand on the edge of the metaverse, with immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences merging our digital and physical worlds, the media production landscape is being radically reshaped by artificial intelligence. AI is not just augmenting how media is created and distributed but redefining what is possible for interactive storytelling. AI in the media and entertainment market has historically developed at a solid CAGR of 14.6%. However, recent AI advancements have kicked progress into an even higher gear, with the market now displaying a projected CAGR of 17.5% from 2024 to 2034 as transformative technologies like generative AI take hold.

AI-powered tools like Disney's FaceDirector software are enabling directors to generate composite actor expressions from multiple takes, precisely adjusting emotional performances in complex CGI scenes as was done in Avengers: Infinity War. Controversial deepfake techniques have also been employed for realistic face-swapping, such as de-ageing actors in The Irishman, as a cost-effective alternative to traditional digital effects. Behind the scenes, AI systems are streamlining labour-intensive processes like color grading and editing. IBM's Watson leveraged to analyze elements from other movie trailers in order to cut an effective promotional trailer for the film Morgan based on audience preferences.

One of the most stunning applications of generative AI models like DALL-E 3 is their ability to create highly realistic digital imagery from simple text descriptions. In the near future, creative teams will be able to feed an AI system a general prompt like "a photorealistic forest on an alien world with two moons and bioluminescent flora" and have it generate a smorgasbord of unique, production-quality concept art on demand. This technology will revolutionise worldbuilding for animated films, games, and immersive VR/AR experiences by streamlining and democratising an extremely labour-intensive process. Independent creators and small studios will be able to generate as many richly detailed concept images as they need with just a few prompts.

Perhaps even more profound will be the increasing use of AI to generate highly realistic digital human characters and virtual actors. We've already seen impressive examples of AI systems creating photorealistic faces and customised video clips by modelling the movements of a real person. In the coming years, an entire cast of AI-generated characters could be created for a film or VR experience by training generative models on footage of a small set of real actors and performers. These digital avatars would have unlimited mobility, resolution, and expressive range. If the actor provides their voice and motion capture, the AI-rendered character could attain extremely nuanced emotional expressiveness. These virtual actors could be generated on the fly and integrated seamlessly into live VR broadcasts, immersive theatre performances, and real-time rendered experiences. Customised AI avatars may become commonplace for user-created VR social experiences in the metaverse.

While modern game and VR engines have become exceptionally advanced at rendering realistic 3D environments in real time, the worlds themselves are still largely handcrafted by armies of artists and level designers. Generative AI models that can create boundless, coherent 3D environments from plain

text descriptions could upend this process. The AI system could construct entire virtual worlds on the fly by intelligently stitching together structures, terrain, foliage, and objects based on high-level scene descriptions. The world could be infinitely expanded as the user explores it, with new areas generated in real time. Such environment-generation AI could power vast, open-world games and virtual reality landscapes that are unique for every user. It could create customised, personal virtual spaces tailored to each person's preferences and usage patterns. The foundational building blocks and rules would be modelled by human developers, but the specific manifestations could be endlessly variable.

As AI-generated media propagates, a major challenge will be ensuring that copyrighted content, misinformation, and harmful material are properly monitored and regulated. AI content moderation and digital rights management (DRM) technology will play a crucial role in this process. For example, advanced AI systems are already being implemented by major platforms to automatically detect copyrighted audio, images, and video that are reused without proper licensing. The copyright holder could submit their original work to a database, and any unauthorised copies or derivatives detected online could be flagged for review. Looking further ahead, generative AI may be able to analyse the provenance and ownership of media assets at the sub-component level. If an AI video used 3D models, motion capture, or other digital assets that were proprietary and unlicensed, those individual elements could be detected and flagged or scrambled in real time.

Ultimately, AI will become a powerful collaborator for artists and creators, allowing them to bring their visions to life with unprecedented efficiency and creative freedom. While the core artistic skills of storytelling, design, and emotive expression will still be human-driven, AI can offload tedious tasks and democratise production capabilities. We may see an explosion of compelling, experimental interactive narratives designed for VR/AR. Since the environments, characters, and visuals can be largely procedurally generated, creators can iterate rapidly on new ideas for immersive storytelling without the same time and budget constraints. Consumers will also gain powerful tools for remixing and co-creating their own user-generated interactive experiences within the guardrails defined by publishers and creators. What shapes media takes in the metaverse era remains to be seen, but AI will undoubtedly be an indispensable ingredient.