You May Have a Thinking Digital Twin Within a Decade: How TikTok is Launching Digital Avatars
We are rapidly hurtling towards a future where we will have digital twins. These are exact copies of ourselves that exist in virtual worlds, and they could play a huge role in our lives. There are already platforms like TikTok that allow us to create digital avatars of ourselves, and this is likely just the beginning. In the near future, we will be able to have our digital twins do all sorts of things for us, from shopping to travelling to meeting new people. Are you ready for this exciting future?
Digital twins are created by mapping an entity's data - be it a person, object, or system - and using that information to create a digital replica. The doppelganger would then interact with the real-world version to provide insights or otherwise offer feedback.
The potential applications for digital twins are many and varied. In the business world, for example, a company might create a digital twin of a new product to test it before it goes to market. In healthcare, a patient's digital twin could be used to map out treatment options or even predict how that person will respond to medication.
The idea of the Digital twin in our daily lives
In our personal lives, meanwhile, we could use digital twins to try out different life choices before making them in real life. For instance, you could use your digital twin to test-drive a new job or see how you would look with a new haircut. You could even use it to plan your dream vacation, without having to worry about things like money or time constraints.
The possibilities are endless - and we are still only scratching the surface of what digital twins can do.
For a long time, identical twins were simply sophisticated 3D computer models, but artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things - which connects physical items to the network through sensors - have allowed you to construct something digitally that is continuously learning from and assisting its real counterpart.
The first digital twins were used in the industrial and engineering sector but are increasingly being trialled in other areas, with applications for smart cities, autonomous vehicles and even human resources.
Digital twins technology is still in its early days, meaning there are many opportunities for businesses to get involved. And as technology develops, digital twins will likely become an integral part of our lives. So what are you waiting for? Get ahead of the curve and start planning for a future with digital twins.
We have already started down the road to human twinning in the form of the aforementioned avatars, but they are now somewhat clumsy and rudimentary. In Horizon Worlds (formerly known as Facebook), Meta's virtual reality platform, you might be able to give your avatar a similar face to your own. However, you can't yet do so because the technology isn't quite there yet.
But it is coming, and when it does, we will have to start grappling with the ethical implications of having our digital twins out in the world, interacting with others on our behalf. Do we really want our avatars to be perfect copies of ourselves? Do we want them to share our opinions and biases?
According to an Oxford University lecturer, AI is still not competent at predicting "single social events" due to their complexity. As a result, we have a long way to go before we can understand and model a person's life from beginning to end, assuming that is ever possible.
Tiktok Launches Digital Avatar feature
While work on AI-based Digital twins for humans is still in its early stages, digital avatars are becoming increasingly prevalent in the realm of Social Media. Several platforms are competing to develop the finest 3D avatar technology to better connect consumers with their applications. TikTok has entered that debate, bringing its avatar creation tools to the table.
Tiktok explains the use of avatars in the platform as follows: “Choose from an array of hairstyles, accessories, piercings and makeup, to create a TikTok Avatar that reflects your personal look and style. After your Avatar is ready, you can start recording videos. As you gesture and move, your Avatar will mimic your motion.”
The app also offers a set of pre-made filters that can be used to turn your Avatar into a cartoon character. It’s still early days for the feature, but it’s not hard to imagine how it could eventually be used to create realistic Doppelgangers of users that could then be used to test products or experiences.
TikTok's avatars are similar to Apple's "Memoji," which allows you to use your favourite Memoji figure as a digital puppet and have it move in response to your movements when looking at the camera. TikTok's avatars, like Apple's "Memoji," are an almost exact replica, with the exception of the cartoonish appearance prepared through the "Miniature" mode.
You'll be able to use this mode to overlay your custom avatar on TikTok videos. This may open up a slew of new creative opportunities, such as your digital character engaging with TikTok videos and remixes, or providing voice-over instructions as a talking head.
That might be fascinating, but the major incentive is to stay in touch with the next phase of digital connection and develop avatar tools that will match more closely with regular usage patterns while also assisting in the maintenance of connection with your presence in each app.
Snap's Bitmoji characters are already well-developed, and they can be used in a variety of ways across both Facebook and Instagram, whereas Meta's 3D avatars are already mature and ready to use in various ways across both platforms.
The next step is to see how these avatars will develop over time. We can only hope that the trend leads to more connection and less disconnection in our world. Digital twins are a fascinating concept that will cause many ethical debates in the future. What do you think about them? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!