ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Extended Reality Trends for 2023: AI, Web3, and the Metaverse

digital · 2026-04-27

The article outlines key trends in Extended Reality (XR) for 2023, emphasizing the convergence of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality with Web3 and AI. Mixed Reality (MR) is advancing through IoT, AI, and 5G, enabling real-time virtual self-representation. New hardware like Meta Quest Pro uses external cameras to customize experiences. Web3 introduces digital wallets as unique identities, fostering decentralized metaverses with flat organizational structures. Utility NFTs provide tangible benefits like event access. Generative AI is expected to produce 10% of all data and 30% of marketing messages by 2025 (Gartner 2022), fueling Generative Art and NFTs. Ethical and sustainable practices are becoming priorities, with a focus on multisensory experiences and haptic suits. The article is authored by Elisabetta Rotolo, CEO of MIAT (Multiverse Institute For Arts & Technology), a creative center for immersive arts. The trends point toward decentralized, user-owned digital ecosystems and AI-driven creative tools.

Key facts

  • Extended Reality (XR) includes VR, AR, and MR, contributing to collaboration, creativity, training, and business.
  • Mixed Reality (MR) advances via IoT, AI, and 5G, enabling real-time virtual self-representation.
  • Meta Quest Pro uses external cameras to gather environmental data for personalized virtual experiences.
  • Web3 provides each user a unique digital wallet as identity, unlike Web2 virtual identities.
  • Decentralized metaverses have flat organizational structures, allowing user control over data and earnings.
  • Utility NFTs offer tangible benefits such as entry to exclusive events or physical goods.
  • By 2025, 10% of all data and 30% of marketing messages from major brands will be generated by AI (Gartner 2022).
  • Generative AI facilitates new creative modes and is used by artists and brands to create NFTs.
  • XR companies are exploring multisensory experiences involving all five senses using sensors and haptic suits.
  • Ethical and sustainable practices are a major trend from 2023, especially targeting younger audiences.

Entities

Artists

  • Refik Anadol
  • Manas Bhatia
  • Elisabetta Rotolo

Institutions

  • MIAT – Multiverse Institute For Arts & Technology
  • Artribune
  • Gartner

Sources