Digital – or virtual – humans are everywhere. They are among the major trends coming up in 2020 and are sure to decisively reshape human-machine interactions with the help of emerging and booming technologies like AI and real-time graphics.
Industry specialist Mike Seymour held a Ted Talk in 2018 in which he envisioned a future where conversational human interactions were at the heart of technology. This shift to more natural and intuitive interfaces would not only be a welcome improvement but also a necessity for many elderly, disabled, or struggling members of a society in dire need of human contact.
“Faces are brilliant communicators of emotion, and emotion is powerful. I want to give the world a better face by putting a face on technology. But we have to be aware that faces can be very powerful, influential, emotional and persuasive.”
Mike Seymour
Consequently, a lot of hype is forming up in the tech and startup world, but with hype comes confusion: buzzwords are thrown around unwittingly as onlookers mix digital humans with virtual assistants, virtual influencers with deepfakes or even robots. So what are the differences between concepts like virtual humans, digital humans or digital doubles, and can we establish a clear map of what they mean where they stand?
Continue reading “Digital humans, virtual humans, digital doubles… what’s the difference?”
