A Startup Is Creating Digital Human Servants to Work in the Metaverse

They're also creepy.
Digital Workforce



Although the idea of the metaverse may seem far-fetched, more suited for Neal Stephenson novels than for reality, many are actually trying to capitalize on it and provide a digital workforce.

Enter Soul Machines is a New Zealand-based startup that claims it designs AI-driven digital human beings for its clients. These can be used for customer service, education, and promotional videos. According to The Verge, Greg Cross, co-founder of the company, stated that it intends to create a digital workforce to support a possible metaverse.

Cross explained to the Verge that when we play a game we adopt a persona. When we coach our kids football team, we adopt another persona. We also have a different personality while we are at the pub drinking with our friends. Human beings are constantly changing our personas and the roles we play within these parameters. These constructs can be created with digital people.

Humans OS 2.0

The system used to run Soul Machines digital humans is called Humans OS 2.0. According to its website, it's an Autonomous Animation Platform that uses a digital brain to allow the AI to learn from interactions with people. The OS is demonstrated in action in a video.

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Cross believes that AI will be able fulfill future needs of flesh-and-blood humans in the metaverse, or even duplicate them.



Cross explained to the Verge that you may be able, in the near future, to create a digital copy of yourself or multiple copies of yourself. They can do things, make money, and make money for you and your company while you are doing something more enjoyable.

Ethical Quandary

The creation of digital people capable of learning for the sole purpose to work for real people raises a host of ethical issues.

Even if they are intelligent, having them work for you could be like a form or slavery, especially as technology advances make them more intelligent. It could also create an entirely new class of AI humans, similar to the video game Detroit: The Become Human.

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Cross, however, isnt deterred.

He explained to the site that technology has been used by many of us to accomplish incredibly positive things, and by some of us to do things that aren't so nice or plain evil. This is an expression of our human condition.

READ MORE: This company is creating digital humans to serve the metaverse [The Verge]

More about digital people: This CGI Influencer is Shilling for More Than 100 Brands

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