Internet based companies like Google and Facebook have a lot of data about us. They know our friends, how we look like, our commute patterns, our favourite places to hang out, browser history and among others. That is why they are able to tailor content that is catered for you only as in the case of Google Now and the Facebook Newsfeed. However, this data about your social life could be used to recreate your “synthetic digital life” according to a report by the Telegraph.
The idea of a digital life form is called Preserved Memories and has been claimed by Simon McKeown, a Reader in Animation and Post Production at Teesside University. Apparently computers in the next fifty years will be so advanced they will be used to recreate avatars that are based on your social media history. These avatars will be generated by these computers based on your existing photos and videos including computer generated voice synthesis so as to make the avatars as lifelike as possible. The avatars will be linked to the respective social media accounts and common databases so that people can be constantly updated of your activities of the day.
The effect of this is that even if you pass on, thanks to your social media history, you will be able to live virtually alongside your loved ones. This idea by McKeown doesn’t seem preposterous at all as we are moving on to a future of connected devices which is aptly known as the Internet of Things. Currently thanks to the evolution of the smartphone, increased use of social media and wearables like fitness trackers, it is easy for one to know a lot about someone. The idea of Preserved Memories is the future metamorphosis of the connected world and albeit it sounds really creepy in a way people can know what you are doing at the moment, it is nonetheless exciting
