Japanese Company Develops Digital 'Clones' of Individuals
2023-08-29
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1A Japanese company is developing digital "clones" of individuals designed to take over some of a person's daily online duties.
2The company is Tokyo-based Alt Incorporated.
3It is working on creating a digital double - an animated image that looks and talks just like its human owner.
4The company's chief executive, Kazutaka Yonekura, told The Associated Press he believes such a double could make people's lives easier by helping them get more things done.
5The digital clone, also called an avatar, could be used for things like carrying out early job interviews or communicating with a person's doctor ahead of a medical visit.
6Yonekura said the main purpose of a digital double would be to "liberate" humans from the many daily duties.
7He showed AP reporters his own digital clone on a computer.
8It included an image and digitized version of his voice.
9When his digital clone was asked, "What kind of music do you like," it waited several seconds before giving a long answer.
10The double explained that Yonekura favors lively music such as hip-hop or rock 'n' roll.
11Yonekura argues that the technology he is developing is more personal than other digital assistants, such as Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant.
12He said most importantly, the clone belongs to you and not the technology company that created it.
13Yonekura added that his developers had attempted to build tools into the system that are designed to prevent awkward social mistakes.
14Currently, digital doubles are very costly.
15Each Alt clone costs about $140,000, so it will likely take time before there is a mass market for the clones.
16Digital doubles are created by taking an individual's data from social media websites as well as publicly available records.
17The data is continuously changed and stored in the system.
18The data is designed to keep up with the individual's changing habits and activities.
19Yonekura said he believes a digital clone could open the door for a society in which people can center on being more creative and waste less time on necessary daily activities.
20The idea of a digital clone reportedly enjoys widespread appeal in Japan - the country that gave the world Pokemon, karaoke, Hello Kitty and emojis.
21But Yonekura admits that cultures are different, and Westerners may not like the idea as much.
22"I can't tell you how many times I've been asked: Why does it have to be a personal clone, and not just a digital agent?" he said.
23I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A Japanese company is developing digital "clones" of individuals designed to take over some of a person's daily online duties. 2The company is Tokyo-based Alt Incorporated. It is working on creating a digital double - an animated image that looks and talks just like its human owner. 3The company's chief executive, Kazutaka Yonekura, told The Associated Press he believes such a double could make people's lives easier by helping them get more things done. 4The digital clone, also called an avatar, could be used for things like carrying out early job interviews or communicating with a person's doctor ahead of a medical visit. 5Yonekura said the main purpose of a digital double would be to "liberate" humans from the many daily duties. He showed AP reporters his own digital clone on a computer. It included an image and digitized version of his voice. 6When his digital clone was asked, "What kind of music do you like," it waited several seconds before giving a long answer. The double explained that Yonekura favors lively music such as hip-hop or rock 'n' roll. 7Yonekura argues that the technology he is developing is more personal than other digital assistants, such as Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant. He said most importantly, the clone belongs to you and not the technology company that created it. Yonekura added that his developers had attempted to build tools into the system that are designed to prevent awkward social mistakes. 8Currently, digital doubles are very costly. Each Alt clone costs about $140,000, so it will likely take time before there is a mass market for the clones. 9Digital doubles are created by taking an individual's data from social media websites as well as publicly available records. The data is continuously changed and stored in the system. The data is designed to keep up with the individual's changing habits and activities. 10Yonekura said he believes a digital clone could open the door for a society in which people can center on being more creative and waste less time on necessary daily activities. 11The idea of a digital clone reportedly enjoys widespread appeal in Japan - the country that gave the world Pokemon, karaoke, Hello Kitty and emojis. 12But Yonekura admits that cultures are different, and Westerners may not like the idea as much. "I can't tell you how many times I've been asked: Why does it have to be a personal clone, and not just a digital agent?" he said. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. 15______________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17clone - n. to make an exact copy of a person, animal or plant 18animate - v. to make (something, such as a drawing) appear to move by creating a series of drawings, pictures, etc., and showing them quickly one after another 19liberate - v. to help someone or something to be free 20awkward - adj. difficult or causing problems 21habit - n. something a person does regularly, almost without thinking about it