‘Someone has to be me.’ –Morrissey
You could soon exist in a thousand places at once. So what would you all do – and what would it be like to meet a digital you? […]
It’s becoming possible to create digital copies of ourselves to represent us when we can’t be there in person. They can be programmed with your characteristics and preferences, are able to perform chores like updating social networks, and can even hold a conversation.
These autonomous identities are not duplicates of human beings in all their complexity, but simple and potentially useful personas. If they become more widespread, they could transform how people relate to each other and do business. They will save time, take onerous tasks out of our hands and perhaps even modify people’s behavior. […]
It might not feel like it, but technology has been acting autonomously on our behalf for quite a while. Answering machines and out-of-office email responders are rudimentary representatives. Limited as they are, these technologies obey explicit instructions to impersonate us to others.
photo { Frankie Nazardo }
