While critics have been busy writing praise for Meta's metaverse dream in recent years, Mark Zuckerberg's latest demonstration of his photorealistic avatars shows that it might be pretty far from dead after all.
Appearing in a September 28 episode of Lex Fridman podcast, Zuckerberg and the popular computer scientist had an hour-long face-to-face conversation. Only it wasn't actually in person.
Instead, Fridman and Zuckerberg's entire conversation used photorealistic avatars in the metaverse, facilitated through the Meta's Quest 3 headset and noise-canceling headphones.
Here's my conversation with Mark Zuckerberg, his third time on the podcast, but this time we speak in the Metaverse as photorealistic avatars. This was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It really felt like we were talking in person, but we were miles apart. Is... pic.twitter.com/Nu8a3iYWm0
- Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) September 28, 2023
Observers often have fun ridiculing Meta for getting rid of billions of dollars in metaverse research just to apparently produce cartoonish avatars and crooked legs.
However, in this case, social media users, including those on Crypto Twitter, seemed to be really impressed by the sophistication of the technology.
The Metaverse has been updated pic.twitter.com/QT1LAkjQGB
โDexerto (@Dexerto) September 28, 2023
"Okay, the metaverse is officially real." wrote pseudonymous Gaut account, a rare moment of seemingly genuine praise from a user typically known for his satirical and sarcastic interpretations of current events.
"9 minutes into the Lex/Mark metaverse podcast, I forgot I was watching avatars," wrote coder Jelle Prins.
Fridman also shared his impressions of the experience in real time, noting how โcloseโ Zuckerberg felt to him during the interview. Moments later, he explained how difficult it was to recognize that Zuckerberg's avatar was not his physical body.
"I'm already forgetting that you're not real."
The technology exposed is the most recent version of Codec Avatars. First revealed in 2019, Codec Avatars is one of Meta's longest-running research projects that aims to create fully photorealistic real-time avatars powered by headsets with face-tracking sensors.
Related: Meta refutes allegations of copyright infringement in AI training
However, users may have to wait a few years before donning their own realistic avatars, Zuckerberg said, explaining that the technology used requires expensive machine learning software and full head scans using specialized equipment that includes more than 100 different cameras.
This would be at least three years away from being available to everyday consumers, he said.
Still, Zuckerberg noted that the company wants to reduce barriers as much as possible and explained that in the future these scans can be done with a regular smartphone.
The most recent demonstration It comes just one day after Meta revealed his response to ChatGPT, revealing its new AI assistant, Meta AI, which is integrated into a range of unique chatbots, apps and even smart glasses.
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