We all grew up watching movies of cool astronauts conquering distant planets fighting scaring aliens and using marvelous technology. From hi-tech goggles displaying complicated programming codes in front of their eyes, to holograms of people suddenly materializing out of nowhere to give the latest news, this world seemed to be a very distant future back then. 

But recent advancements in technology may soon turn all of this into reality. 

In particular, avatars have recently been in the spotlight and are slowly becoming more and more mainstream. 

So, is it reasonable to think that they will soon become an integral part of daily life in the Western World? 

The Rise of Digital Avatar

People have been using digital avatars for quite some time now. 

Just think of the different characters you can choose from whenever playing Call of Duty or even simple games like Minecraft. Of course, these are pre-created avatars and have little to do with your own persona. But there are now signs all over the world suggesting we will soon have the chance to create an avatar faithfully representing not only our facial features but even our body movements. 

The first sign of this change probably came in October 2021, when Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive of Facebook, announced that its famous platform was in the process of becoming a ‘Metaverse Company’. Zuckerberg sketched a revolutionary - and frankly quite uncanny - scenario, in which people from all over the world are able to inhabit immersive digital environments, where they can socialize and work with other users through digital avatars. 

The first attempt wasn’t too successful and when in August 2022 Zuckerberg posted his first avatar, he was roundly mocked. However, since then his team put a great effort into improving this first prototype and has come up with over 40 versions of Zuckerber’s face before getting final approval from their leader.

There is no way of denying it: avatars are slowly becoming more and more predominant in our world. To give a recent example, a few months ago the famous rock band Kiss decided to leave the stage to reveal digital versions of its members performing ‘God Gave Rock and Roll To You’ to then end the concert with Paul Stanley’s prophetic sentence: ‘The end of the road is the beginning of another road’. 

Another example is the 2024 Digital Fashion Week, which took place this February. During this event, some fashion collections were displayed using digital avatars in the creation of a unique hologram runway show, with designers such as Stephy Fung, Suza Vos x Harriet Davey, and Mutan all taking part in the project.

As the uncanny scenario pictured by Mark Zuckerberg slowly turns into reality, technology is also improving with programs now able to create pretty faithful representations of real people. 

The famous company Apple recently released its latest Vision Pro Headset. These goggles allow people to immerse themselves in a digital reality where they can browse through app icons just by looking at them, or by giving voice commands. 

What makes this product truly unique, however, is its ability to create hyper realistic avatars based on users’ features. According to its creators, people will be able to scan their faces to create a digital persona that can then be used during video calls. 

This advanced avatar should also be able to track your face and hand movements while using FaceTime. 

It now seems clear that avatars will soon abruptly enter our lives whether we like it or not. In this regard, it is worth discussing some of the pros and cons of this technology. 

Pros of Digital Avatars

Anonymity: Avatars allow people to keep a level of anonymity that may be useful when discussing sensitive topics. For instance, they may help those struggling with addiction to join support groups, knowing that their identity will be protected. 

Enhance communication for people with disabilities: Avatars can be particularly empowering for people with disabilities as they may enable them to express themselves more freely and in ways that may be impossible for them in the physical world.

A new face for businesses: Digital avatars will also allow businesses all over the world to have a ‘face’. In other words, to create a digital persona representing their business able to attend several meetings, conferences, and forums at the same time

Cos of Digital Avatars

Increase cyberbullying: Anonymity however is a double-edged sword, as it may lead to an increase in cyberbullying as people will easily be able to hide their true identity. 

Limited communication: Communication is a complex skill that goes beyond the spoken word. Our facial expressions, gestures, and physical presence all play a role that avatars may not be able to reproduce faithfully, constituting a problem for interactions in which these nuances are essential. 

Escapism: Digital avatars may also constitute an escapism. Countries such as Japan are already dealing with a massive isolation problem, with over 1.5 million people identifying as ‘hikikomori', a word used to refer to those living as social recluses. The arrival of digital avatars may lead us to become even more disconnected, contributing to the current loneliness epidemic. 

Considering all the pros and cons, the future acceptability of digital avatars remains uncertain. Humans are incredibly complex beings and so are their relationships and interactions. 

News such as the recent wedding between a Spanish-Dutch artist and an AI hologram is still highly uncanny for most people, raising questions on to what extent will this new technology become a part of our daily lives and whether such complex relations with avatars will ever be normalized.