Technology: Avatar will become the Japanese counterpart of Kyriakos Pierrakakis on a trial basis

The use of so-called cyberspace “avatars”, i.e. digital selves that “represent” a person in virtual worlds, is constantly gaining ground. In this context, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) announced that by the end of the year it will experiment with the cyber-avatar of the country’s digital affairs minister, Taro Konoof the counterpart of the Greek Minister of Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis.

The aim is to explore how citizens feel when a minister addresses them through his digital persona and not himself. A wide range of people will come into contact with the minister’s avatar and then assess whether people are more or less receptive to him than if they met the real minister.

Digital avatars or cyber-avatars aim to allow people to perform various functions and tasks (in the fields of work, education, health, entertainment, etc.) without, any longer, the physical limitations of the body, the brain , of space and time.

The spread of their use will enable their operators to take part in various social activities without physical presence in a specific location. In fact, the ability for a person to have and handle multiple avatars is expected to lead to a large increase in their activity and productivity.

An avatar that closely resembles a human will create the impression that the latter is present. But such an avatar can also be controlled by a different person or even by an artificial intelligence system. Which raises various “identity” issues that should be considered.

Japan has launched the ambitious “Moonshot” R&D program with the goal of realizing a society in which people can be free from the limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050. Goal is the development and testing of advanced cyber-avatar technologies.

In the framework of this broader program, the sub-programme for “Implementation of a Society of Coexistence with avatars where everyone will be able to perform active roles without restrictions” is being developed.

It is led by Professor Ishiguro Hiroshi of Osaka University’s Graduate School of Engineering Science. The goal is to achieve a society where humans and avatars coexist harmoniously. In this context, the ministerial avatar will also be tested.

RES-EMP

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