By now, almost everyone knows about virtual reality (VR) and the idea of putting on a headset and becoming immersed in a virtual world. Most learning leaders have also considered the value of creating VR learning experiences for training applications in a variety of industries. For certain applications, VR has proven to be an effective training tool. Unfortunately, there have been barriers to the wide adoption of VR for training, including the awkwardness of headsets tethered to computers and the costs for development and distribution.

Since late 2022, more attention has been going to artificial intelligence (AI) due to the widespread adoption of ChatGPT, Google Bard, Perplexity AI and other generative AI tools. Now, with the emergence of generative AI technology, it’s time for learning leaders to take a fresh look at VR.

The Synergy Between VR and Generative AI

With today’s less expensive and freestanding headsets, VR growth has started to accelerate. According to the PwC , the No. 1 business use case for VR is onboarding and training. The most common training use cases for VR involve repeated application of technical skills in environments that are difficult or expensive to replicate.

Integrated with other training methods, VR experiences can deliver immersive learning and practice opportunities at a greater scale than other approaches. With generative AI tools, instructional designers are better equipped to cost-effectively achieve this scale: Learning experience design teams can create virtual environments, objects and characters required for VR training in less time using generative AI technology, and instructional designers can use AI image generation tools such as DALL-E, Jasper and Midjourney to rapidly create visual concepts for immersive learning and practice environments.

Once created, the visual concepts can be modified, combined and customized into a virtual environment that represents the work setting. Knowing the learner will be in a realistic VR environment, the instructional designer can create training and practice scenarios that lead to better retention and job readiness.

For instance, imagine the interactive learning scenarios that can be created given a fully equipped virtual medical exam room and avatars representing patients, doctors and other medical staff. Now imagine being able to use generative AI tools to easily manipulate the objects in the room and the avatar characteristics. The ability to manipulate variables using AI prompts enables an even greater number of scenario variations for learning and practicing in a realistic and safe environment.

Using AI to Personalize Training Scenarios

Just as learning experience designers can use AI to help create virtual environments and character avatars, they can also use AI to personalize the learner’s journey. Without AI, achieving and scaling adaptive learning has been challenging. With AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data and apply machine learning (ML) algorithms, learning systems can better assess learner performance, track progress, and identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. Applying this information in a simulated environment allows you to personalize the learning experience by adjusting variables such as system responses, character behavior and difficulty level. This will become increasingly valuable in soft skills VR applications that require simulated dialog scenarios. There are numerous training use cases that involve learners interacting with characters in a VR environment in sales, customer service, and management as well as in many industries such as healthcare, law enforcement, and education.

Cost and Accessibility

The use of generative AI tools is making developing VR training applications more cost effective. AI tools enable instructional designers to generate virtual environments, avatars, and scenarios in less time and for less costs opening up VR’s use for more learning and practice applications. Learning leaders should consider VR in a learning mix including instructor-led, self-paced eLearning and on-the-job training. While most learners will enjoy and learn effectively from VR experiences, they will not want to spend hours wearing the headset immersed in a virtual world. Using VR for short, applied learning and practice experiences will achieve the best results and return on investment.

Conclusion

For learning and development leaders, it’s time to put on a VR headset like Meta’s Quest and experience a VR training application. It’s been reported that, according to research by Stanford University and the Technical University of Denmark, VR training is 76% more effective than traditional methods. Additionally, VR-based training results in higher confidence levels and an improved ability to apply learning on the job.

The convergence of generative AI and VR presents new possibilities for creating immersive learning experiences. By looking at your organization’s training needs and evaluating the potential return on investment of VR as part of a blended learning solution, you are likely able to start a pilot application right now.