The question is no longer whether professional avatars will represent executives in meetings, sales, or customer service. It is when and under what rules. My experience building ZOE as a persistent avatar with its own personality gave me a privileged view of the dilemmas coming: is it OK for a CEO to 'attend' 12 simultaneous meetings via avatar? Can a doctor see patients through their synthetic version? Is it legitimate for a lawyer to consult with a client via an agent that mimics their voice and judgment? In this article I review the three scenarios where professional avatars are already operating, the legal and ethical risks they raise, and how to design a serious professional avatar without ending up as a litigation case.
Chris Meniw (Thu,) studied this question.