Welcome to the podcast version of New World Same Humans, a weekly newsletter on trends, technology, and society by David Mattin.
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This week, an essay on a powerful emerging trend and its path from weird to mainstream.
I think this trend is set to reshape media and reconfigure business in the years to come. It might even change your life.
Enough preamble. Hit play on this essay, which is called ‘Virtual Humans, and How Weird Becomes Mainstream’.
If you’d prefer to read this instalment, go here for the text version of New World Same Humans #41.
Links in this week’s instalment
1. Kanye West gave Kim Kardashian a hologram of her late father for her 40th birthday.
2. The virtual influencer Lil Miquela has 2.8 million Instagram followers.
3. Xin Xiameng is a virtual newsreader developed by Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency.
4. Spotify created a digital avatar US singer The Weeknd, which then delivered a personalised message to the user based on their listening data.
5. The Riot Games virtual girlband K/DA just released a new song, which already has 20 million YouTube views.
6. Alethea AI is a startup that allows users to create their own virtual humans; it was featured in the last New Week Same Humans.
7. The AI-fuelled chatbot app Replika bills itself as ‘your AI friend’.
8. Samsung are working on a new line of ‘humanoid friends’ called NEONs.
9. Back in NWSH #15 I wrote about the emergence of the metaverse.
Same humans assemble
Thanks for listening this week.
Are you convinced that your next big relationship will be with an AI-fuelled virtual companion?
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Your membership of our community is valued. I’ll be back on Wednesday; until then, be well.
David.
New World Same Humans #41 – Audio Version