I recently tuned in to Lex Friedman’s Podcast #398, Mark Zuckerberg: First Interview in the Metaverse – a conversation that industry professionals should not miss. Despite the initial skepticism and market response Zuckerberg faced upon venturing into the Metaverse, his forward-thinking approach has positioned him as a visionary in retrospect.

The crux of their discussion revolved around the confluence of photorealistic avatars and AI within the Metaverse. Zuckerberg proposed the idea of creators synthesizing AI counterparts of themselves, allowing for authentic, scalable interactions with their followers.

While this might sound like a distant reality, the foundational technology is already with us. With the abundance of data from prolific writers, speakers, and podcasters, Large Language Models (ChatGPT, Google Bard) are equipped to emulate particular styles. Combine this capability with advanced avatars, and we’re on the brink of AI-avatar inception.

Beyond the podcast’s insights, the potential applications of this groundbreaking tech seem vast:

1. Deploying virtual AI leadership teams, leveling the playing field for small businesses.
2. Enhancing the training process with your best people as AI avatars to assist new employees.
3. Your best customer service employee as an AI avatar, cloned and able to handle your entire call center.
4. Licensing AI avatars for consultancy, ensuring personalized insights drawing from your expertise.
5. Curating virtual advisor groups for innovative brainstorming and product development.
6. Job Interviews and Dating: Offering “try-before-you-buy” experiences, providing deeper insights and personalities into prospective collaborators or partners.
7. Tools to safeguard and detect unlicensed AI avatar imitations.
8. Providing a teacher’s AI avatar for help with homework for students
9. A unique proposition to ‘copyright’ one’s intellectual distinctiveness.
10. A boon for knowledge workers affected by chronic illnesses, allowing them to monetize their expertise without physical constraints.
11. For the DIY’ers – Having an AI avatar of Bob Vila that can observe your techniques and offer suggestions.

This convergence of AI and the Metaverse heralds a new era of digital interaction and personal branding. I’m eager to hear from the community. How do you envision AI avatars shaping our professional and personal landscapes?