Never be lonely again: Digital humans

I spend a fair amount of time in my book chapter talking about intelligent (AI) bots / artificial humans and how brands can use them to create more meaningful relationships with customers. Fascinating stuff. And as AI and natural language processing improves (eg, real conversation) continues to improve in parallel with improving graphics and streaming, we’ll be able to interact in ways that will be indistinguishable from “real”.

This New Zealand based company is one of a handful working on developing that dream.

UneeQ (previously FaceMe) has taken in $10 million in funding so far to develop digital representations of humans that interact with you in much the same way as a real person would to drive emotional connection, loyalty, and trust between a business and its customers. And while this is a business application, I have no doubts that we will “have” digital humans as friends, companions, advisors – whatever we need. Interacting with computing through natural language, and with something that looks, sounds and “feels” completely human is the ultimate goal of spatial computer.

Competitios to Uneeq include Neon, Didimo, Soul Machines (love that name), and others; and while many currently think the uncanny valley a barrier, I believe that as time progresses we’ll *expect* our technology to seem natural.

https://www.nanalyze.com/2019/11/ai-chatbots-digital-humans

| Artificial intelligence, Branding, Digital Avatars, Facebook post

Going to be a published author!

So my first professional book chapter’s been officially submitted, “Immersive Media and Branding: How being a brand will change and expand in the age of true immersion” (could still be changed) for all those curious. It is about virtual and augmented reality, and what it will mean for brands.

Among other things, I talk a lot about how artificial intelligence and how it will inform digital avatars, which are fully fleshed out 3D interactive brand ambassadors. Fascinating thing to think about; literally fleshing out what your brand is, and what that will mean for interacting with consumers.

A shout out to the Cortney Harding of Friends with Holograms, Samantha Wolfe of We are Phase 2, Alejandro Mainetto of EY, Alan Smithson of XR Ignite Community Hub and Virtual Accelerator and Robert Spierenburg of All Things Media for their contributions! And to Jacki Morie of All These Worlds LLC for both accepting my proposal for inclusion, and being very kind for putting up with my questions throughout. She is very patient.

It still need to go though peer review, but should be in the January publication of the tentatively titled,”Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media.”

| Appearances & Press, Artificial intelligence, Augmented reality, Branding, Digital Avatars, Focus: AR/VR, Predictions, Virtual reality

Announcement time

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Been kind of quiet here lately…as I’ve been really busy IRL. Two big pieces of news:

First: I’ve officially started looking to join a company after 10 years of self employment. Lots of reasons, the biggest being I’ve realized that it’s nearly impossible to drive any sort of advancement in the emerging tech world by yourself – you need to align with a larger team that is doing amazing things.

And I would so love to do that…so, for anyone listening: I’d love to be part of your senior team, driving forward advancements in Immersive Media (AR, VR), Digital or AI. I can help you figure out what to do, where to go, who to do it with and who to sell it to – and then get it done.

My professional experience includes working with global companies (mostly large, but many small / startups too) over the past 20+ years. I’ve help them understand, evaluate and develop business and marketing strategies in industries where digital + emerging tech is creating opportunities (and threats). An innovation focus, as it were…with deep roots in consulting, management and entrepreneurship – my goal is to help whichever company I join grow and thrive.

Second: I’m going to be a published author!!

Excited to have been chosen to contribute a chapter (working title: “Immersive Media and Branding: Invasive, Enriching or Annoying? How Being A Brand Will Change and Expand In The Age Of Immersion”) for a soon-to-be-published book by IGI Global. Thrilled with the opportunity.

And finally….been reading a lot as well. The advancements taking place in technology are truly mind boggling. A few subjects are consistently drawing my attention lately because they are, well, just so damn interesting.

Spatial computing:
Tom Emrich’s article “Advertising Enters the Next Dimension: 7 Ways Spatial Computing is Evolving Advertising & Marketing” caught my attention while researching info for my chapter submission. He discusses all the ways that the future of advertising and marketing is going to be immersive; I’m going to be discussing something similar in my book chapter, Artificial Intelligence-fueled avatars and all. He’s more about exploring the advertising angle than I will (I’m focusing on what it means to be a *brand* in a world with 360 immersiveness). Well worth a read, with great examples.

Brain-Machine interface:
Although a few months old, I’m intrigued by the work CTRL-Labs is doing with brain-machine interface. Electrical impulses from the brain are translated )(with training) into computing motions without needing to actually move…in the future you’ll only have to think it, and it’ll get typed, designed, communicated – all of it.

Ambient computing and Digital twins
A term I’d heard, but not really latched onto, until I listened to this podcast, “Ambient Science and Digital Twins with Katalin Bártfai-Walcott” about the ubiquitous, invisible computing that will be our future – and our “digital twin” which will represent us in that dimension.

I think I’d prefer the term “Digital Concierge” – but the end result is the same: a parallel entity that is powered by AI to learn about our individual preferences and personality, and have the authority to make decisions on our behalf. Instead of us interacting 1:1 with each device as we currently do, giving each our attention when needed – on/off, play this, turn this on, etc – our Digital Twin (concierge) will co-navigate our day with us, managing our experiences without us needing to consciously do anything.

The legal ramifications alone are staggering; regardless to what degree this eventually plays out, I think we can all agree that computing will move towards being ambient, meaning ubiquitous – and invisible. If any of this sounds at all interesting, listen to the podcast!

| 360 Video, Artificial intelligence, Branding, Digital marketing, Virtual reality
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