Zoom to create digital clones to attend meetings for you

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During the height of the pandemic, online meetings became indispensable as restrictions prevented in-person gatherings. Platforms like Zoom, a proprietary videotelephony software, became integral to daily life. We attended online classes, conducted business meetings, ran programs and socialized with friends.

As remote communication remains essential, many are feeling the fatigue of never-ending online meetings. Zoom may have a solution on the horizon: allowing users to enjoy their time elsewhere while attending meetings virtually. The company is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create “digital clones” that can attend video conferences on behalf of users.

Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan and his team shared this development of “digital-twin technology” in an interview with The Verge. This innovation would allow users to create “deepfake avatars” of themselves to join Zoom meetings, make decisions and handle tasks while they focus on other activities.

“I can send a digital version of myself to join so I can go to the beach. Or I do not need to check my emails; the digital version of myself can read most of the emails,” Yuan explained.

Yuan envisions Zoom as more than just a video chat platform. In the same interview, he said that he aims to take on enterprise software giants like Microsoft and Google by integrating productivity tools such as docs, email and chat. With a significant investment in AI, Yuan’s vision includes making Zoom a comprehensive enterprise solution.

These AI-powered avatars would attend Zoom meetings, make decisions and manage routine tasks. The aim is to give people more time for in-person interactions, creative projects and community involvement.

“You and I can have more time to have more in-person interactions, but maybe not for work,” Yuan added, highlighting how to spend more quality time with family and focus more on creative things and extending help to the community. “Today, we can’t do that because every day is busy, five days a week.”

Yuan acknowledged the potential of AI to reduce time spent on routine tasks and value more time with family and friends. However, he also recognized that this technology is still in its early stages. “I think in a few years, we’ll get there, but we’re just at the beginning,” he said.