While critics have been continuously writing obituaries for Meta’s vision of the metaverse in recent years, Mark Zuckerberg’s newest showcase of photorealistic avatars illustrates that it may be far from over.
On a September 28 episode of the Lex Fridman podcast, a face-to-face dialogue unfolded between Zuckerberg and the renowned computer scientist. Surprisingly, this interaction wasn’t in person.
The entire conversation between Fridman and Zuckerberg utilized photorealistic avatars in the metaverse, enabled by Meta’s Quest 3 headsets and noise-canceling headphones. Many have ridiculed Meta for investing billions into metaverse research, only to produce seemingly amateur and clumsy avatars.
Yet in this instance, social media users, including those from Crypto Twitter, expressed genuine admiration for the advanced technology. “Ok the metaverse is officially real,” tweeted the pseudonymous account Gaut, unusually offering non-sarcastic praise.
“9 minutes into Lex / Mark metaverse podcast I forgot I was watching avatars,” shared coder Jelle Prins.
Fridman also posted his real-time thoughts about the experience, mentioning how “close” Zuckerberg seemed during the interview. He later described the difficulty in remembering that Zuckerberg’s avatar wasn’t his actual physical form. The technology showcased is the latest version of Codec Avatars, one of Meta’s enduring research projects since 2019, aspiring to develop entirely photorealistic, real-time avatars operated via headsets equipped with face tracking sensors.
Despite the advancement, Zuckerberg noted that ordinary users might have to wait a few more years to use such realistic avatars, citing the need for costly machine-learning software and comprehensive head scans using specialized equipment with over 100 different cameras. He estimated a minimum of three years before this technology becomes accessible to the general public.
Nevertheless, Zuckerberg emphasized the company’s intention to minimize these obstacles, suggesting that future scans might be conducted with a standard smartphone.
This recent display occurred just a day after Meta introduced its counterpart to ChatGPT — Meta AI, the latest AI assistant, integrated across various unique chatbots, apps, and even smart glasses.
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