Artificial Intelligence (AI) and immersive technologies – with the metaverse as a new horizon full of possibilities – are drastically changing our way of understanding work, learning, leisure or social relationships. In this context, companies need to have, more than ever, professionals capable of adapting to a constantly evolving world to lead complex projects in which innovation and digital transformation will undoubtedly be fundamental factors. That is why training is, in these times, more important than ever.
Traditional models of education have been very useful in responding to the needs of the past. However, new technological scenarios decisively affect the way we understand work, and that also implies developing new ways of learning that fully integrate all these technologies and serve to train professionals who are capable of adapting naturally to the transformations that they will happen.
Precisely this year we are witnessing the emergence of two important disruptive tools. “On the one hand, the Large Language Models (LLM), in the style of ChatGPT; without forgetting those capable of developing images, such as Midjourney. On the other hand, augmented, virtual and extended reality technologies, which materialize in Apple glasses and most likely in other market players,” details Esteve Almirall, professor in the Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences at Esade.
Technologies that are causing a paradigm shift in education. In classrooms, “it is no longer a matter of receiving content, it is a matter of having a purpose and generating an impact. The big change is discovering our potential in favor of society,” says Pina de Paz, CEO.
For Almirall, these tools will allow us to eliminate the most mechanical or tiring work. At the same time, they will serve to connect people from different cultures and places in an even more effective way than we have seen so far. The ultimate goal is for them to be useful for “training professionals who can give the best of themselves in a future that we will all invent together.”
Almirall points out one more reason for LLM and augmented reality technologies to be definitively incorporated into our lives: “We must not forget the economic substrate, which is the engine of all change. Both tools aim for very low marginal costs, with very high scalability, although initially they may have barriers to entry. So there are economic reasons for accelerated economic growth.”
New technologies not only provide tools that make it easier to carry out tasks that previously consumed much more time and effort. They also allow us to move to other meeting scenarios to interact with people beyond any geographical or cultural distance.
Many companies, organizations and academic institutions have chosen to be present in the metaverse, as a way to complement and extend their activities. We see an example in Esade, one of the pioneers in betting on this new environment that merges physical reality with virtual reality. At the end of 2022, it launched a campus in the metaverse to connect its participants with programs that allow them to accelerate the learning curve and project future scenarios in which to test new business models.
A scenario that we were able to learn more about during the From business to the Metaverse session that took place during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “We have created a closed Metaverse environment that is accessed with virtual reality glasses. The virtual campus reproduces a physical campus in an immersive environment, with a large classroom where students can attend class, 6 meeting rooms with an interactive whiteboard for group work dynamics, and a leisure area where users can interact among them, playing baseball, basketball or practicing archery,” explains Marc Cortés, professor in the Marketing department and director of the Executive Master Digital Business at Esade.
A pilot experience with which Esade has attempted to use the Metaverse as another learning tool, but “instead of doing it theoretically, with a Power Point, we do it practically. What we see is that students are able to learn faster. They realize much more quickly the potential of the experience and the impact it could have on their sector of activity,” adds Cortés.
AI and the metaverse will transform education, we are seeing it, but they also configure a new way of conceiving entrepreneurship and the organization of companies. Precisely these have been some of the key themes at the 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the world's leading meeting in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation within the framework of the MWC.
In the same 4YFN forum, a debate panel was held on trends in EdTech (or educational technology) for 2023, which included Davide Rovera, manager of Esade eWorks; Kevin Giorgis, Co-Founder
For Rovera, “entrepreneurship means knowing how to gather resources and talent to take advantage of an opportunity. The shocks generated by new technologies offer a gap that entrepreneurs must take advantage of. “This is what happened with the appearance of the Internet or the spread of smartphones, and this is what will happen with the metaverse and AI.”
Creating new businesses with these technologies offers two possibilities: the first is to create “new paradigms. This option seems very stimulating and can make us think of science fiction scenarios, but there are probably very few who will be able to carry it out,” says Rovera.
The second is based on applying it to other products. “This will surely have much more impact, although perhaps less media visibility. AI is capable of taking care of simple and repetitive tasks, allowing users and workers to concentrate on activities with greater added value. "Whoever understands this and manages to integrate it into products and services can be very successful in the coming years."
Without a doubt, the unstoppable advance of Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize the way training is conceived and will also have a decisive impact on entrepreneurship and the forms of organization and production of companies. Although we still cannot even imagine what possibilities these disruptive technologies will hold for us in the coming years, it is clear that they open before us a series of stimulating paths that are worth taking.
