Elliott as a Virtual Persona in Zoom?

Mar 13, 2024

Yesterday, I facilitated a discussion with senior learning executives on the topic of technology innovations, AI and learning. There were two Elliotts on the Zoom call.

This Zoom window had one Elliott as a “tech Persona” using the new Apple Vision Pro headsets. This “e-Elliott” was pretty close to my features and showed my expressions and hand movements in real-time. Here is how I looked in my home office, wearing the Vision Pro:

Zoom has created an app that uses the Persona feature of the Apple Vision. I was asked by the goggles to have my hands scanned and to demonstrate various facial expressions and movements.

Here is a small part of our Zoom discussion group - and you can see the two versions of Elliott on screen - the real one on the left and the Personal version on the right.

I wanted to demonstrate this feature to alumni of our recent AI & Learning LAB. We imagined future uses of this Persona technology that might include:

Use of the Persona feature when a video participant wasn’t comfortable being in live mode.
Generative Video AI that could create a real-time video instructor/coach in a learning module - responding interactively to the learner.
Simulation Videos that would allow an employee to practice interviewing or managing colleagues in an interactive asynchronous session.
Many more…

This felt like the first version of the iPhone that i purchased on the day of release on June 29, 2007. The phone just did a few things, like make a call or listen to a song. This was before Wi-Fi and apps. Look at how the functions have evolved!

Let’s experiment with new Persona technologies that will be forthcoming from other tech companies that may include Meta, Microsoft and Amazon. As innovators we should be stretching our visions and models for new and quite different learning models and designs.

Elliott Masie Notes

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