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AI & Digital Arts · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Metaverse & Machine Minds

This forward-looking course explores the convergence of persistent virtual worlds (the Metaverse) and autonomous Artificial Intelligence. Students will move beyond simple VR social spaces to design “Smart Worlds”—ecosystems populated by AI-driven entities that can learn, trade, and govern. The curriculum covers the technical architecture of decentralized virtual spaces, the psychology of digital existence, and the philosophical implications of creating synthetic life.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Analyze the technical and social infrastructure of the Metaverse (Web 3.0, Spatial Computing)
  2. Design autonomous AI agents (NPCs) with complex behavioral trees and memory
  3. Explore the ethics of digital identity, ownership, and "Machine Rights"
  4. Create a prototype for a persistent virtual environment with AI inhabitants
  5. Critique the sociological impact of migrating human activity to synthetic worlds
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01Defining the Metaverse: Hype vs. Reality
  2. 02The History of Virtual Worlds (MUDs to VR)
  3. 03Spatial Computing Architectures
  4. 04Decentralization & Web 3.0 Basics
  5. 05AI Agents: Perception & Navigation
  6. 06Natural Language Processing for NPCs
  7. 07Procedural World Generation
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09AI Economy: Automated Trading & DAO
  10. 10Digital Identity & Avatars
  11. 11Machine Minds: Creating "Living" NPCs
  12. 12Social Engineering in Virtual Spaces
  13. 13Governance & Law in the Metaverse
  14. 14The Psychology of Virtual Presence
  15. 15Ethics: Harassment & Safety in VR
  16. 16Final Project: The Living World Prototype

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Living World Prototype

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything by Matthew Ball
  2. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (Fiction/Conceptual Foundation)
  3. Virtual Society by Herman Narula
  4. Artificial Life: A Report from the Frontier by Steven Levy
  5. Designing Virtual Worlds by Richard Bartle
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