America’s higher education system is in trouble. American universities are increasingly relying on underpaid temporary instructors who teach a demanding course load. They frequently lack job security and health insurance in an effort to save spending and control tuition increases. A student debt problem and spiraling tuition expenses pose a threat to making college expensive for everyone but the wealthy. This is where the Metaverse university known as “Metaversities” come in.

Many colleges are expanding class sizes and relocating courses online to cut costs. Student unhappiness has only grown during the pandemic, and online learning is less popular than in-person education. In addition to these issues, colleges in the US and other countries are confronted by efforts like boot camps and apprenticeships that call into question the connection between the formal academic credentials that come from a college and real-world success.

Universities may benefit from the metaverse, a collection of upcoming virtual and augmented reality technologies that will provide a more immersive experience than the existing internet, and it could transform the experience of distance learning. However, as my colleagues and I at the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston have seen through our research, using artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies to solve one set of issues frequently results in the creation of a new set of issues. And until we do, it’s possible that the metaverse won’t be able to handle the demands of a college education.

In the metaverse “Metaversities”, using AI for college education.

We’ve discovered that AI has the potential to impair people’s ability to make routine judgments about issues like who should get a promotion at work as well as more serious choices like what movie to watch. Additionally, we’ve discovered that it can cause people to lose faith in the significance of human rights and undermine the function of serendipity, which refers to accidental encounters and other unexpected events that occur in the actual world.

Will better news regarding higher education come from the metaverse? Potentially. However, computer technologists, higher education executives, and policymakers will need to find solutions to certain challenging issues if they are to create thriving Metaversities.

Also, read – How Will The Metaverse Developers Change Education?

1. Freedom of thought

On privately owned platforms, academic freedom, or the capacity for faculty and students to discuss and research any subject they think essential, is not guaranteed. What transpires when contentious discussions occur on corporate platforms where academic instruction and intellectual discourse occur?

If negative publicity might lower the stock price of platforms like Meta and Zoom, would they still be committed to unrestricted free exchange? The recent historical performance is uninspiring. For instance, San Francisco State University’s virtual lecture in 2020 featuring Laila Khaled, a Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine member who participated in two hijackings of aircraft in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was blocked by Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube.

Universities are not allowed to grant social media firms a veto over the topics that academic members and students can discuss. That would destroy academic freedom. This issue needs to be resolved if we want higher education in the metaverse.

Don’t miss. Happening this Morning: UCI CME virtual lecture series Dr. Henry Ddungu discusses anticoagulation in #cancer patients. See flyer for details:#FightCancerUg pic.twitter.com/L43zSLs45c

— Uganda Cancer Institute (@UgandaCancerIns) December 7, 2022

2. Focus

Being able to pay attention in class is necessary for successful learning. The world needs to be turned off for an hour or two for a successful university seminar. With pupils distracted by their phones and laptops in the real world, it’s challenging enough to maintain this level of concentration. How can a completely virtual learning environment be made to encourage focus?

Even during class, there are instances when students cannot resist the allure of technology, no matter how great the lecturer may be. This worry is heightened by Facebook’s advertisements for the metaverse, which feature dancing parrots and psychedelic tigers. Therefore, how can designers ensure that the existing significant difficulties with classroom focus won’t be made worse by the metaverse?

There must be a way to disable distractions in the software. This can seem like a simple problem to solve. However, in the current setting, the same may be said of distractions coming from students’ phones and computers. Limiting what kids can view on their own devices is not always simple. If they do, universities might be concerned about appearing intrusive. And consider how alluring immersive 3D shopping might be during class.

3. Interaction

Humans communicate extensively nonverbally, with many of our intentions being expressed through our body language and facial expressions. Can cartoon versions of ourselves, known as avatars, accurately mimic our facial expressions and body language? This is significant because vibrant, spontaneous communication is essential to much of the learning that takes place in university classes, especially in the discussion-heavy sessions typical of humanities courses. It frequently requires the capacity to provide and receive nonverbal cues during such impromptu dialogue. These issues are only now beginning to enter engineers’ minds. Before fully developing nonverbal virtual communications, they must develop significantly.

4. A feeling of belonging

Outside of the classroom, students learn a significant amount of what they like about college. The finest college experience encourages students to socialize casually, make friends, and acquire opinions about one another, themselves, and the governmental structures that control their life.

This vital sense of belonging can start in the classroom but usually grows outside of it. Is there a way to reproduce this experience, which is one of the best things about being a student, in the metaverse? With everyone confined to their homes and donning a headset, can a genuine community between students and their teachers, as well as between students and themselves, be established without physical presence?

5. Digital inequity

Finally, decision-makers and educators should consider whether university access will actually increase as a result of higher education in the metaverse. Will these new technologies provide more affordable, exciting educational opportunities, or will they only create a new digital divide between those who can afford brick-and-mortar education and those who must settle for its online equivalent? Or, to further complicate matters, what if so-called “metaversities” are integrated into a three-tiered educational system with traditional schools for the wealthy, metaverse virtual reality education for the middle classes, and two-dimensional remote learning — like that which is currently being used — for those who cannot afford anything else?

Despite their difficulties, colleges continue to be important social institutions for knowledge creation, student personal growth, and the facilitation of tough conversations. If the metaverse takes off and these very real issues can be solved, it might give colleges a new chance at survival.