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, more than ever, professionals capable of adapting to a world in constant evolution 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 education models have been very useful in responding to the needs of the past. However, the new technological scenarios decisively affect the way work is understood, and that also implies developing new ways of learning that fully integrate all these technologies and serve to train professionals who are capable of naturally adapting 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, augmented, virtual and extended reality technologies, which materialize in Apple's glasses and very probably in other market players”, explains Esteve Almirall, professor in the Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences at ESADE.
Some technologies that are causing a paradigm shift in education. In classrooms, “it's no longer a matter of receiving content, it's a matter of purpose and impact. The great 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 even more effective ways than we have seen so far. The final objective is that they be useful for "training professionals who can give the best of themselves in a future that we will invent together."
Almirall points out one more reason for LLMs 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 at very low marginal costs, with very high scalability, although they may initially have barriers to entry. So there are economic reasons for accelerated economic growth.”
New technologies not only provide tools that make it easier to perform tasks that used to take much more time and effort. They also allow us to move to other meeting places 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 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 main 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 Department of Marketing and director of the Executive Master Digital Business at Esade.
A pilot experience with which Esade has tried 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 in 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. These were precisely some of the key issues at 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the world reference meeting in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation within the framework of the MWC.
In the same 4YFN forum, a panel discussion on trends in EdTech (or educational technology) of 2023 was held, which included Davide Rovera, manager of Esade eWorks; Kevin Georges, Co-Founder
For Rovera, “undertaking means knowing how to pool 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 diffusion of smartphones, and this is how it 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 probably very few manage 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 focus on higher value-added activities. Whoever understands this and manages to integrate it into products and services will be able to be very successful in the coming years”.
Undoubtedly, the unstoppable advance of Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize the way of conceiving training 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 up a series of exciting paths that are worth taking.
