Will you be replaced by your AI clone? Maybe one day, but not quite yet
- Avatars could be the next big thing in AI, with a variety of industries eyeing them to boost productivity, cut costs and streamline operations
- Investors have taken notice, with venture capital money pouring into what is predicted to become a US$527 billion industry by the end of the decade
Every business has that employee it could not stand to lose. The outstanding one. The one you joke about cloning.
Well, the joke might one day be on us as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom gathers speed.
And digital clones – avatars by another name – present a world of business, economic, scientific and artistic opportunities, even as they also raise a host of ethical questions.
To see just how far the technology has already progressed, Bloomberg Television anchor Tom Mackenzie cloned himself. Then he had a chat with his AI-powered twin, call him Avatar Tom.
Mackenzie’s digital twin, created by London-based synthetic media platform Synthesia and using ChatGPT to generate its responses, is animated by algorithms able to mimic his appearance, behaviour and voice.
Avatars could well be the next big thing in the AI space, with a variety of industries eyeing them to boost productivity, cut costs and streamline operations including training, customer support, sales and communications.