On November 22, 2024, the "Shanghai Cultural Tourism Metaverse and High-Tech Audiovisual Industry Promotion Event," guided by the Shanghai Municipal Publicity Department and hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, was grandly held. During the event, the results of the 2024 Shanghai Cultural Tourism Metaverse Innovation Demonstration Project selection were officially announced. The immersive XR experience project "AI's Dream," jointly developed and operated by Shanghai Center and Xenario (Alexander Brandt), won the prestigious title of "Shanghai Cultural Tourism Metaverse Innovation Demonstration Project" due to its technological breakthroughs and scene innovation.

The "Shanghai Cultural Tourism Metaverse Innovation Demonstration Project" is the first authoritative selection in the Yangtze River Delta region that focuses on the deep integration of cultural tourism and digital technology. It aims to discover benchmark cases that combine technological content, cultural connotation, and market potential. The selection of "AI's Dream" highlights its technological integration in artificial intelligence and XR (Extended Reality), as well as its pioneering "virtual-reality seamless" immersive experience model, which provides a replicable innovative path for the digital transformation of traditional cultural tourism scenes.

AI+XR Deep Integration Creates Immersive Future Narratives

"AI's Dream" is the world’s first AI vs. live-action immersive interactive theater, directed by German new media artist and chief designer of the Shanghai Planetarium Alexander Brandt. The project explores the near-future relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence, guiding the audience through 14 immersive surreal interactive spaces, where they face the challenge of super artificial intelligence at an altitude of 475 meters, unlocking two different story endings and multiple mission paths. The project combines cutting-edge technology and imaginative plotlines to inspire deep reflections on the future and life, while exploring humanity's intertwined fate with artificial consciousness. It is hosted in the Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building, at the 102nd and 106th floors, creating a landmark new destination for global visitors.

During the experience, players become "super intelligent management bureau" advance team members, tackling global challenges such as energy crises, environmental pollution, and ecological destruction alongside the virtual digital life form "AiAi." Players unravel the mystery of super intelligence’s birth. The project introduces real-life NPC actors (non-player characters) for interactive performances, where players can freely choose between competition or cooperation, search for hidden clues, and make critical decisions for team survival. AI-driven dynamic storylines and multiple open-ended outcomes ensure each player's journey is unique, full of unknowns and challenges.

AI+Cultural Tourism: Building a New "Metaverse Cultural Tourism" Space

Amidst the blending of virtual and reality in the metaverse wave, the "AI's Dream" project, using the iconic Shanghai Tower as its base, has created a new cultural tourism space combining "metaverse + super high-rise architecture," advancing the deep application of cutting-edge technologies like AI and XR in the cultural industry. With regular operations in the future, the AI’s Dream project will continue providing unprecedented immersive experiences for global tourists, helping China’s cultural tourism reach new heights of intelligence and digitization.