Mark Zuckerberg Does First Full Interview In Metaverse Via Photorealistic Clone
A wax figure of Mark Zuckerberg at the Madame Tussauds Museum in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo 163649247 © Grace5648 | Dreamstime.com
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg seems really comfortable living in the metaverse, so much so that he didn’t even come up for air in his latest interview with podcaster Lex Fridman.
The pair spent over an hour conversing in their hyperrealistic virtual avatar forms in what Fridman calls the “first interview in the metaverse.” Although they appeared to be seated face to face in the same room, the real Zuckerberg and Fridman were, in fact, situated hundreds of miles away from each other and donning Quest Pro headsets.
To be transported into the digital realm, both Fridman and Zuckerberg took physical scans and recorded themselves in various facial expressions and movements to generate lifelike computer models. The technology, called Codec Avatars, is a project the Meta boss has been working on for years. It involves the images being collapsed into a codec, and the package is sent to headsets to allow them to capture a person’s real-time expressions and plot them seamlessly onto their avatar—“basically [sending] an encoded version of what you’re supposed to look like over the wire,” Zuckerberg explained in the interview.
The technique also ends up being “much more bandwidth-efficient” than running a full video, Zuckerberg claimed.
Lex Fridman conducted the first Metaverse interview with Mark Zuckerberg using Meta's advanced Codec Avatars.
— branko (@_abranko_) October 2, 2023
Codec Avatars employ machine learning to create realistic, real-time avatars driven by headsets with face-tracking sensors. pic.twitter.com/EUUijrE0Nq
“This is just really incredible,” Fridman remarked. “I don’t know how to describe it with words. It really feels like we’re in the same room.”
Fridman applauded how convincing the avatars’ features were, from their freckles to the way their eyes crinkled when they smiled.
Here's my conversation with Mark Zuckerberg, his 3rd time on the podcast, but this time we talked 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 🤯 It's… pic.twitter.com/Nu8a3iYWm0
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) September 28, 2023
At the same time, the deadpan expressions elicited by both virtual characters during supposed moments of excitement oozed Uncanny Valley vibes. With that said, their real-life counterparts aren’t necessarily known for being the most animated folks.
Fridman did mention that the process to mimic their appearances in the metaverse was a “lengthy” one, to which Zuckerberg responded that there’ll come a time when users would be able to quickly generate 3D models of themselves using their smartphones and transport them to the next dimension.
“The goal—and we have a project that’s working on this already—is just to do a very quick scan with your cell phone where you just take your phone, wave it in front of your face for a couple of minutes, say a few sentences, make a bunch of expressions, but, overall, have the whole process just be two to three minutes and then produce something that’s of the quality of what we have right now,” the Meta CEO commented.
Our grand takeaway is that Mark Zuckerberg still calls them cell phones.
