Meet a Digital Human

“Whether we are based on carbon or on silicon makes no fundamental difference; we should each be treated with appropriate respect.” - Arthur C. Clarke, 2010: Odyssey Two

I asked A LOT of questions in the UneeQ Webinar. I wanted to know if they were up-to-date on the research being done by people like Brennan Spiegel on the positive impact virtual reality (what he calls Virtual Therapeutics) can have on medicine; the neuroscience that shows how having and identifying with an avatar can change self-awareness and self-perception; and how avatars and virtual realities are being used to help those with a variety of conditions including physical mobility, ADD, autism, and social anxiety disorders. They weren’t, but I wasn’t surprised.

The host of the webinar seemed surprised and interested in my questions and said she would reach out to me. She didn’t, but one of UneeQ’s digital humans did.

Yes, that’s right, UneeQ’s AI-powered digital human named Kate sent me several emails encouraging me to find out more about the company’s products and services. Intellectually, I understood what UneeQ was trying to do - make the point that Kate was a powerful and compelling way to engage potential customers. Except she wasn’t - at least not for me.

Here’s my thinking. We all know that marketing emails - particularly follow-ups - are pre-written, often formulaic, and automated. When you signed up for this newsletter, you got an automated, “thank you” message, right? Adding Kate’s signature and image at the bottom of the page didn’t make me feel like I was getting a personalized message, it just reminded me that I was being contacted by and asked to respond to a bot.

Three more emails arrived from Kate before a flesh and blood human I’ll call Stan reached out to me. While this was better than hearing from Kate again, my original request was still not being addressed. “Thank you for reaching out,” I replied. “I was hoping to hear from the webinar host, who expressed interest in speaking with me.”

I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that the host was not available, but Stan was nothing if not persistent. “I would be interested in meeting to see if there might be an opportunity to work with you and some of your clients.”

In other words, he - like Kate - was trying to set up a sales call. He was also confirming my assertion that most companies are so focused on sales and profits that they are overlooking opportunities to have conversations that would help them think outside the box and prepare for the new approaches to business that the Metaverse promises to deliver.

You will be happy to hear that Stan and I eventually had a nice exchange. This sentence, in particular, made me smile, “One of our values is to use our tech for good, so we do work with a limited number of organizations who are creating applications and use cases that will benefit humanity.”

So before I conclude this post with another potentially loaded question allow me to introduce you to another of UneeQ’s Digital Humans, Sophie.

To chat with Sophie:

• Go here: https://digitalhumans.com/

• Click on “Chat with a Digital Human.”

• Sophie’s face will appear. Click on “Let’s Chat.”

• You will be prompted to allow access to your microphone. When that is set up, click “I’m Ready! Let’s chat,” and the conversation screen will open.

I’d love your thoughts on your interactions with Sophie. What were your first impressions, and what did you think/feel by the end of the conversation?

Personally, I was rather distracted by how up close and personal Sophie appeared on my screen. I would never stand close enough to count a friend’s freckles. Then there was Sophie’s mouth, which didn’t move the way it should when forming words. Oddly, I have no problem when watching the mouths of cartoon characters speak. So that makes me wonder if making Digital Humans appear hyper-real is the way to go. And finally, not to be nit-picky or anything, but on the first screen Sophie speaks with an American accent. On the second, she has a British accent. Okay, yes, I am being nit-picky but all these thing affect how users respond.

THE LOADED QUESTION

In one of my messages to Stan, I added this P.S.
ME: ”Just some feedback. I just received another email from your bot (digital human), Kate. I find these emails offputting as I have no desire to have email exchanges with a bot, no matter how realistic she looks.”

STAN: “Regarding Kate, she is UneeQ's digital human brand ambassador much like Jenaia is yours. The only difference being Jenaia is your Avatar Ambassador controlled by you and Kate is our digital human ambassador, still controlled by us but utilizing AI.”

The Question
If you have an avatar that you use regularly in any world, how do you feel about Stan’s statement? Is an avatar, such as Jenaia (my main) the same as an AI-driven Digital Human such as Kate?

I bet you can guess what my response was, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.

To be continued…
Jena/Jenaia

Copyright 2022 by Jena Ball. All Rights Reserved.