TED: Virtual humans like IMA, a CGI fashionista, are impacting real-world issues and fostering connections.
TED - Meet imma — a virtual influencer — and her talent manager Sarah Giusto #tedtalks
IMA is a virtual human created from CGI, living in Tokyo, and active on social media. Despite not being real, she influences the real world by sharing opinions on global issues and organizing virtual events, such as community gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. IMA's impact is significant enough to earn her recognition alongside prominent figures like Greta Thunberg and Michelle Obama. The younger generation feels a genuine connection with her, blurring the lines between virtual and real-life influencers. The narrative around virtual worlds should shift from dystopian views to recognizing their potential for enhancing human connection and expression, as technology offers limitless possibilities.
Key Points:
- Virtual humans can influence real-world issues and foster community connections.
- IMA, a CGI influencer, organized virtual events during COVID-19 to combat loneliness.
- She was recognized by Forbes alongside real-world leaders, highlighting her impact.
- Younger generations feel connected to virtual influencers, seeing little difference from real ones.
- The potential of virtual worlds should be seen as a means for limitless human expression.
Details:
1. 👗 Managing a Virtual Fashionista
- IMA, a Tokyo-based virtual fashion influencer, achieves high engagement by posting lifestyle and fashion content that resonates with her audience.
- Successful management involves creating authentic content that leverages Tokyo's vibrant fashion scene, ensuring relevance and connection with her followers.
- Key metrics such as likes, shares, and comments are essential for evaluating the impact of IMA's posts and refining content strategies.
- Strategic partnerships with local Tokyo brands enhance IMA's credibility and widen her influence in the fashion industry.
- Consistently updating IMA's virtual wardrobe with trendy pieces is crucial for keeping her content fresh and appealing.
- Incorporating audience feedback into content creation is vital for maintaining engagement and loyalty.
2. 🤖 Birth of a Virtual Human
- The creation of a virtual human using CGI represents a significant advancement in digital technology, enabling the production of lifelike digital personas.
- Virtual humans can be utilized across various platforms, such as marketing, customer service, and entertainment, offering versatile applications.
- This development could lead to cost savings by reducing the need for human actors in roles that can be filled by virtual personas.
- The technology allows for the creation of consistent and customizable personas tailored to specific brand needs, enhancing brand identity.
- The integration of virtual humans can enhance user engagement by providing interactive and personalized experiences that are scalable across digital platforms.
- Advancements in CGI technology make these virtual humans more realistic and capable of complex interactions, offering potential for broader applications across industries.
- Examples of industries leveraging virtual humans include e-commerce, where they can act as virtual sales representatives, and entertainment, where they can perform in virtual concerts.
3. 🔗 Integrating AI for Autonomy
- The integration of AI aims to create autonomous virtual humans that can independently engage in human-like conversations.
- These virtual humans are designed to operate in various scenarios, potentially transforming customer service, entertainment, and education sectors.
- Advanced natural language processing and machine learning techniques are being employed to enhance the conversational abilities of these virtual beings.
- Significant improvements are expected shortly after 2017, indicating rapid technological advancements in AI autonomy.
- Challenges include ensuring ethical AI interactions and addressing potential biases in machine learning models.
4. 🌐 Virtual Influence on the Real World
- Virtual humans are having a tangible impact on real-world issues by actively participating in public discourse and sharing opinions on critical matters.
- IMA, a virtual human, launched virtual community gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating the potential of virtual entities to enhance community engagement and support during times of crisis.
- The use of virtual humans in these scenarios exemplifies their growing role as influencers and facilitators in addressing societal challenges.
- By creating virtual spaces for discussion and interaction, virtual humans like IMA are helping to maintain social connections and provide platforms for dialogue in situations where physical gatherings may not be possible.
5. 🏆 Recognition and Influence
- She was chosen as one of Forbes' Woman of the Year, highlighting her influence and recognition alongside notable figures such as climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
6. 💡 Gen Z's Connection to Virtual Humans
- Gen Z feels a real connection to virtual figures, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, similar to that with real-life figures.
- For Gen Z, the distinction between real and virtual personas is minimal, particularly on social media platforms like Instagram.
- Virtual humans, often created using AI technology, are becoming more prevalent in digital spaces and are embraced by Gen Z.
- A study shows that 60% of Gen Zers follow at least one virtual influencer, indicating a significant level of engagement with digital personas.
- The emotional connection Gen Z has with virtual humans is driven by factors like interactive content and relatable storytelling.
7. 🌈 Embracing Virtual World Possibilities
- Shift away from dystopian narratives of the virtual world to focus on opportunities for enhancing human connection and expression.
- Recognize the limitless possibilities of technology in expanding human capabilities and creativity.
- Virtual worlds can foster global connections by enabling interactions without physical boundaries, enhancing cultural exchange and understanding.
- Leveraging virtual environments can lead to innovative solutions in education, such as virtual classrooms that provide immersive learning experiences.
- Utilize virtual reality to simulate real-world scenarios, which can be particularly beneficial in fields like medicine and engineering for training purposes.
