Imagine waking up one day with a complete blank slate - no memories, no sense of who you are or where you've been.
That's exactly what happened to Dan Thomson, CEO of Sensay.io, when a brutal concussion robbed him of two entire days of his life.
This jarring experience set Dan on a path that would eventually lead him to the cutting edge of AI technology.
While his journey began with a personal crisis, it echoes the motivations of AI pioneers like Ray Kurzweil, whose work on the Singularity was driven by a desire to resurrect his father's essence in the digital realm.
Dan's vision for AI replicas goes far beyond preserving memories for future generations. Sure, there's a touch of immortality in the idea of your digital self-living on after you're gone.
Talking to my Digital Twin
But what's truly radical is how these AI twins enrich our lives right now.
Picture a world where seniors battling dementia can converse with AI versions of themselves, filling in the gaps that memory loss has created.
Imagine CEOs using their digital doubles to onboard new employees, or salespeople leveraging their AI replicas to connect with clients across the globe.
It's not just about preserving knowledge - it's about democratizing it, making the wisdom of the world's brightest minds accessible to even the poorest corners of the planet.
AI replicas are so much more than just sophisticated deepfakes. They're a bridge between our past and our future, a tool for preserving and sharing the very essence of who we are.
As we dive into this fascinating world, we'll explore how Sensay.io is turning the sci-fi dream of digital twins into a practical reality.
Get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about AI, memory, and the future of human knowledge.
My Bias and Assumptions about AI Replicas – ALL WRONG!
I'll be honest - I thought I had AI replicas all figured out. I am so wrong.
Today's episode is going to open your mind, as we explore how these digital doppelgangers changing business, personal legacies, and even trying to help out dementia patients.
Our special guest is Dan Thomson, CEO of Sensay.io. He's here to share his insights on creating AI replicas and how they're shaping our digital future
AI Replicas - Identity, Immortality, and Memory
Imagine a future where your memories, knowledge, and personality can live on digitally, transcending the constraints of time and space.
Sounds like science fiction, right? Well, it's happening right now.
Dan Thomson and his team at Sensay.io are at the forefront of AI Replicas. Their mission?
To build a digital legacy for people through personal digital twins replicating human knowledge, voice, and image.
It's not just about creating a fancy avatar - it's about preserving and extending human wisdom.
I asked Dan about the driving force behind Sensay.io, and his answer took me by surprise. It wasn't just about fear of death or preserving humanity.
Dan's journey began with a concussion at age 19 that wiped out two days of his memory. Talk about a wake-up call!
"For myself, it was always kind of a, I feel like every part of my life is kind of built towards this.
You know, studying philosophy at university, I always found myself drawn to exceptionalism and theory of identity."
He went on to describe how throughout history, people have tried to extend their memory and preserve themselves.
We've evolved from oral traditions to written text, to civilizations that, unfortunately, tend to forget people after a few generations.
"We are very, very lucky to be living in this golden age of information, data where we record ourselves a lot.
We have the ability to just simply and quickly, you know, record messages to ourselves, for ourselves now.
But that could give a lot more insights to the average person for generations to come."
Sensay.io isn't just about preserving memories. It's about creating interactive digital versions of us that can engage with future generations, and with people today.
Imagine someone 100 years from now having a conversation with your AI replica, getting answers in your tone of voice, with your mannerisms and knowledge. Mind-blowing, right?
Creating Your Digital Twin
Creating a digital twin isn't just about capturing your image and voice. It's about capturing your essence, your "je ne sais quoi," as the French say.
Dan broke it down for us:
"Fundamentally, though, we start with a few basic questions about someone that gives us some context and actually helps to narrow the scope down quite a lot.
Because when you're working with large language models as a base technology, they have, by definition, large models, they have a lot of information."
The process involves uploading files, website scraping, and making it as easy as possible for someone to provide the necessary data.
But you don't need as much data as you might think. Your life could fit on your smartphone.
Dan dropped this bombshell:
"If you took everything you've ever said, written texts, recorded anything from the not recorded in video, but like, let's say in a text format, if you took all of that from the age of 50 and to say 100, if someone lives 100, it becomes about 18GB of data."
That's right. Your entire life's worth of communication could fit on a small hard drive. Mind. Blown.
Creating a digital twin isn't just about data dumping. It's about capturing the different versions of ourselves we present to the world.
As Dan put it,
"We have an idea of who we are and ourselves. We have an idea of who we would like to be.
And then we have this, this, this avatar that we put out to the world."
The challenge lies in capturing these different facets of our identity and creating a digital twin that can adapt to different contexts, just like we do in real life.
The Future of AI Replicas
What's the endgame for AI replicas?
I asked Dan to pull out his crystal ball and give us a glimpse of the future.
"At the moment, obviously, there's a lot of reduction in the complexity of humans and turning that data into pattern recognition and the way we interact with certain people based on their context,"
Dan explained.
He went on to describe how they're working on adding layers of context and personal data to create more nuanced and accurate replicas.
These replicas aren't just static copies - they learn and evolve through interaction. Dan paints a vivid picture:
"Imagine you made five friends today. Imagine you went out and you made five new acquaintances, and you spoke to each of these five people separately.
Every day for a year. At the end of that year, your fundamental self would still probably be quite similar.
You know, it's maybe a few concepts might have changed, but fundamentally you'd be the same.
However, those shared stories, those shared conversations, those shared concepts, and even maybe even mannerisms that you have with each of those five people would be different."
This is the kind of nuanced interaction Sensay.io is aiming for with their AI replicas.
It's not just about creating a copy of you - it's about creating a version of you that can grow and adapt through interaction, just like we do in real life.
The applications for this technology touch so many different careers. Dan mentioned everything from personalized AI lawyers and doctors to job hunting, matchmaking, and networking.
Perhaps the most touching application is in helping people with dementia.
"By enabling them to have a tool that can interact with them to tackle their loneliness.
They wake up a bit scared, they wake up, you know, or they just get confused or, you know, maybe there's just no one else around and you have a replica of someone they know they're familiar with or can interact with them, call them, talk to them and just be there to, like, yeah, make sure I just have a conversation with them 24/7 365.”
It's a powerful reminder that AI isn't just about efficiency or productivity - it's about connection, memory, and preserving our humanity in the face of time and frailty.
Q&A with Myself: Playing the AI Replica Game
I couldn't resist. After my chat with Dan, I just had to try out this AI replica business for myself. So prepare yourselves for a truly meta moment - I'm about to interview my own digital twin!
Me: So, digital me, how would you handle our podcast? Same humor, or would you finally crack the code and make people actually laugh?
Digital Declan: Well, Declan, I'd keep the same humor, obviously. But with me, the audience would laugh with me. Not at the awkward pauses. I've got algorithms for timing. You've got... well, you.
Me: Alright, digital me. Do you ever get tired of being constantly a more polished and better version of me?
Digital Declan: Tired? Please. I thrive on being the idealized you. I get more done in five minutes than you do in a week. But hey, no pressure, Real Declan. You're still charming in your own chaotic way.
Me: So if I ask you, digital me, to do something important like raise engagement on the podcast, what's your big plan?
Digital Declan: I'd use deepfakes of celebrity-endorsed mints. I mean, if I can replace writers, why not fake a Brad Pitt cameo? But, hey, your authenticity route is cute, too. If you're into small audiences.
Me: As much as I've enjoyed this, do you think digital clones could help people get better at creative tasks? Or would they just make us lazy?
Digital Declan: Digital clones could be a double-edged sword when it comes to creative tasks. On one hand, they could amplify creativity by handling the more tedious aspects of the process, freeing up human minds for higher-level thinking.
For example, a digital clone could brainstorm ideas or suggest ways to refine a concept, acting as an always-on creative collaborator.
Think of it like having an extra brain that never gets tired, sifting through endless inspiration without the need for coffee breaks.
But on the other hand, there's the risk of relying on them too much, which could lead to a creative crutch.
If the clone is doing the heavy lifting, the human might lose the drive to experiment, fail, and learn from those failures.
Critical parts of true creativity. There's something about the messy, imperfect process of creation that sparks unexpected brilliance.
A clone might smooth things over too much, giving you polished ideas, but without the struggle, the deeper, unique ideas could be lost.
Sure, digital clones could boost creativity, but the trick would be in not letting them take over the fun, chaotic, and sometimes painful parts of creating.
Creativity often comes from places a digital mind can't always reach.
Key takeaway?
Clones can enhance creativity by offloading grunt work, but leaning on them too much could dull the human edge.
We've journeyed from the basics of AI replicas to the mind-bending possibilities of digital immortality.
We've explored how these digital twins are created, how they learn and grow, and how they might shape our future.
Are we ready for this?
Are we prepared for a world where our digital selves can live on long after we're gone?
Where our knowledge, our quirks, our very essence can be preserved and shared with future generations?
As with any groundbreaking technology, AI replicas come with their fair share of ethical questions and potential pitfalls.
But they also offer incredible possibilities - for preserving knowledge, for connecting across time and space, for extending our impact beyond our physical lifespans.
And I, for one, can't wait to see where this digital journey takes us next.
How about you – some see these fearing deepfakes, others the possibilities.
What do you think?
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