For a number of us, the pandemic methods we’re living increasing portions of our lives through screens: working, Zooming, streaming, video gaming, linking. That last part– connecting– is in some ways the most tough. Invest sufficient time on screens, and even the real live humans we’re connecting with can begin to seem like avatars. What takes place, in the future, when the individuals we’re talking with in fact are avatars? And what if that future is now?
On the most recent episode of the Get WIRED podcast, writer Emma Grey Ellis explores this emerging world of virtual beings. Ellis recently participated in the Virtual Beings Summit, where artificial intelligence companies assembled (from another location, of course) to demo their most recent productions. And throughout the episode we hear directly from Lucy, a new virtual being from Fable Studio– though to hear her talk, you may think Lucy was a “real” fourth-grader.
Some virtual beings are hugely popular. A virtual Japanese p