I recently had the privilege of attending XR Summit 2024 at the eXperiential Technology Innovation Center (XTIC), IIT Madras. My heartfelt thanks to Prof. Mani and his team for the kind invitation and to Thoughtworks for making all the arrangements seamless. The event was nothing short of extraordinary – a world-class summit showcasing groundbreaking advancements, with an exciting lineup of sessions led by industry pioneers and academics. The topics covered were diverse, thought-provoking, and visionary.

🚀 Excited to announce that I’ll be part of the XR Summit 2024 hosted by XTIC, IIT Madras, a hub for driving innovation in XR technologies in India! 🌟 IIT Madras, with its state-of-the-art Haptics Lab and the IoE Center for VR and Haptics, supported by the CAVE consortium (via XTIC.org), is at the forefront of advancing experiential technologies. This summit will bring together key stakeholders, industry leaders, and visionaries to shape the future of XR.

📖 My Takeaways from Our Next Reality by Alvin Wang Graylin and Louis Rosenberg ☞ Buy - Exploring the Metaverse ☞ Buy - Our Next Reality Our Next Reality topped my reading list for months, and travel always helps me catch up on books! After meeting Alvin at AWE Asia 2024, I was eager to dive in and finally complete it. Following recent trips to Singapore and now the US, here’s what I found worth sharing from the book.

Exciting conversation on the future of tech with Eddie Avil, where we dive into my journey of writing Exploring the Metaverse, discuss the opportunities and challenges of the digital age, and even touch on mind-bending concepts like Programmable Dreams and Time Travel. Are we ready for what’s coming? XROM Podcast 🎙️ XROM PODCast, hosted by serial entrepreneur and visionary Eddie Avil, is an incredible YouTube channel showcasing conversations with industry leaders in emerging tech.

AWE Asia is a flagship event of the Augmented World Expo (AWE), serving as a crucial platform to unite leading XR companies, investors, and international stakeholders to drive the growth of the XR market in Asia. After an exciting Day 1 at AWE Asia 2024, I’m thrilled to share my key takeaways from Day 2, where both I and my fellow Thoughtworker Arijit had the opportunity to present as speakers.

AWE Asia is a flagship event of AWE(Augmented World Expo), dubbed as “XR’s Most Essential Conference” and “The XR Conference for Everyone”. It is the world’s leading AR/VR expo after more than 10 years of dedication, development, and high-quality events. AWE organizes three annual events (USA, Asia, EU) and holds a number of other sessions all over the world. AWE Asia is an opportunity to bring together outstanding XR companies, investors, and other international stakeholders in Asia to promote the development of the local XR market.

AWE Asia is a flagship event of AWE(Augmented World Expo), often dubbed as “XR’s Most Essential Conference” and “The XR Conference for Everyone”. With three major annual events in the USA, Asia, and Europe, along with numerous other sessions worldwide, AWE Asia is a prime opportunity to bring together leading XR companies, investors, and international stakeholders to accelerate the growth of the XR market in Asia. This year, I had the privilege of attending the event in Singapore in person as a speaker.

In a world where AI is ubiquitous, technologies like AR, VR, and XR often raise eyebrows, despite their vast potential. AI is not only propelling these technologies forward but also preparing them for the next stages of development. There are tremendous opportunities to leverage their potential for business transformation. I am honored to be invited by Express Computers - India Leading IT Magazine, to speak on this topic and dispel common myths.

Season of AI, a virtual event series of the Microsoft Azure Developer Community by Reskill, stands as a flagship event in empowering aspiring professionals. Recently, I had the privilege of delivering a session, where I had the opportunity to guide the community and share insights from my experience in XR and AI development. It was an honor to accept this invitation, and special thanks to Rohit Sardana and Azkar Khan for extending the invitation.

Artificial Intelligence has made significant strides with the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) or Generative AI, which are trained to understand and respond to human language naturally. Tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Co-pilot have become the go-to resources for “Ask me anything” queries. These innovations have been touted as potential Google Search Killer, disrupting the way we search for information, communicate with machines, and receive machine responses.

AI is pervasive, whether we sense it or not. Staying updated has become essential for survival. We are increasingly immersed in artificially generated worlds, with the internet rapidly evolving into what is known as the metaverse. In my book, “Exploring the Metaverse”, I delve into its various forms and interpretations, usecases and challenges, and the way forward. DesignersX, a company specializing in software development, invited me to speak about my book and discuss how AI and the metaverse will shape the future.

The era of isolated development and secret-keeping innovation is fading. In the past, companies, individuals could thrive by becoming subject matter experts within their own walls. However, the rise of generative AI, fueled by shared knowledge, has changed the game. AI can now imagine and generate solutions faster than ever. The future belongs to those who embrace openness, collaboration, and shared learning. Expertise alone isn’t enough. Today, success hinges on building strong networks, fostering partnerships, and collaborating within communities.

Generative AI is revolutionizing content generation across various mediums, disrupting traditional methods in text, images, art, movies, and music creation. XR (Extended Reality) is also undergoing this transformation. In a previous article, Raju Kandaswamy and I discussed how AI aids in generating content for XR, meeting the dynamic needs of XR and the metaverse. We highlighted content management as a key challenge in XR and metaverse adoption. While generative AI methods offer some solutions, the significant hurdle of content optimization remains.