Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Educational AI-Assistants for the Metaverse

The paper explores the opportunities and challenges for metaverse learning environments with AI-Assistants based on Large Language Models. A proof of concept based on popular but proprietary technologies is presented that enables a natural language exchange between the user and an AI-based medical expert in a highly immersive environment based on the Unreal Engine. The answers generated by ChatGPT are not only played back lip-synchronously, but also visualized in the VR environment using a 3D model of a skeleton. Usability and user experience play a particularly important role in the development of the highly immersive AI-Assistant. The proof of concept serves to illustrate the opportunities and challenges that lie in the merging of large language models, metaverse applications and educational ecosystems, which are self-contained research areas. Development strategies, tools and interoperability standards will be presented to facilitate future developments in this triangle of tension.