CLOSED: Call for Papers: Special Issue on the Metaverse

Important Dates

• Submission Deadline: 15 June 2024
• Publication: March 2025

In recent years, the concept of the metaverse has garnered significant attention as a digital universe where individuals can interact, socialize, and engage in various activities in a virtual environment. Its appeal lies in the potential to create immersive, interconnected spaces that transcend the limitations of traditional online platforms. The metaverse is envisioned as a space where users can seamlessly navigate between virtual and physical realms, offering new dimensions for social interactions, entertainment, and commerce.

Amidst the evolving technological landscape where artificial intelligence (AI) has taken center stage, the metaverse emerges not as a contender, but as a harmonious counterpart. While AI focuses on enhancing machine intelligence and automating tasks, the metaverse enriches the digital experience by providing a platform for human interaction and exploration. This symbiotic relationship prompts a deeper exploration into the intersections of AI and the metaverse.

As giants such as Meta and Microsoft strategically allocate substantial investments toward AI, the metaverse becomes intricately interwoven with the trajectory of advanced technologies. Meta's commitment of up to $33 billion, and Microsoft's cumulative $13 billion investment in AI (including collaborations with OpenAI for products like ChatGPT), exemplify the entwined evolution of AI and the metaverse.

Even as the metaverse encounters shifts in priorities, it remains a resilient and enduring concept. Meta's dedication to long-term investments in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other metaverse initiatives underscores this lasting impact. 

This special issue invites researchers to delve into the complexities of this dynamic relationship, offering theoretical and practical insights that extend beyond the headlines. We aim to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the metaverse's evolving role in our digital future amidst the AI-driven technological landscape.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• The roles of key enabling technologies such as 5G and 6G cellular networks, artificial intelligence (AI) (including generative AI) and machine learning, blockchain, edge and cloud computing, the Internet of things (IoT), extended reality (XR) devices, which include augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and digital twin in facilitating the development of the metaverse.
• Integration of AI in the Metaverse
• Diffusion and adoption 
• Data management
• Design and deployment
• Economic and social impacts including inclusion and accessibility
• Ethical, and moral considerations in (AI-Enhanced) Metaverse
• Security, privacy, bias, and disinformation in the metaverse
• Organizational forms, new business models and strategies
• Regulatory frameworks governing metaverse development and use
• International heterogeneity in the development of the metaverse
• Application and industry practice for metaverse
• Educational Application of AI in the Metaverse
• Human-AI collaboration in Metaverse Development
• Technological Roadmap for Sustainable Metaverse Growth

Submission Guidelines

For author information and guidelines on submission criteria, please visit Computer’s Author Information page, as well as the Author Guidelines. Please submit papers through the ScholarOne system and be sure to select the special-issue name. Manuscripts should not be published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere. Please submit only full papers intended for review, not abstracts, to the ScholarOne portal.

Questions?

Contact the guest editors at co3-25@computer.org.

• Dr. Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Dr. Norita Ahmad, American University of Sharjah, United Arab