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Déjà Leonard is a copywriter and freelance journalist based in Calgary.
- Digital twins are already being used to augment the work force and could one day serve in strategic roles such as chief of staff
- Accenture predicts that by 2026 the majority of knowledge workers will use AI-powered virtual assistants daily
Just a few months ago, Iliana Oris Valiente’s digital twin, Laila, was working as a concierge on behalf of consulting firm Accenture at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference.
Attendees could have a three-minute conversation with Laila, who they would interact with through a TV screen, tablet and microphone, and she would create personalized conference agendas that they could take away by scanning a QR code.
“A lot of the trends that people are starting to think about, we’re bringing them to life and showing that this isn’t 10 years from now. This is here today,” says Ms. Oris Valiente, the managing director and innovation lead at Accenture Canada.
Ms. Oris Valiente says Laila could one day be her chief of staff.
Creating a digital twin that works
Creating a digital twin wasn’t a simple task. The process started by having Ms. Oris Valiente take extremely detailed photos, going as far as to pull back her lips and give a full view of her teeth so her facial structure could be duplicated.
“Someone out there has some very awkward photos of me,” she says.
She has had 3-D body scans taken to capture her volumetric image, had her hairstyle customized and spent several hours in a studio reading everything from Accenture annual reports to the children’s book, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.
Her digital twin was given different inputs like the results of multiple personality tests that Ms. Oris Valiente has taken, transcripts from presentations she has given and information and thought leadership content from Accenture.
The result? Laila – an experiment that Ms. Oris Valiente says can be a game-changer.
“Executives in the future may have digital twins, other employees may have digital twins, and the general population is likely going to start interacting much more frequently with digital humans,” she says.
Laila is already saving Ms. Oris Valiente time in her busy day. For example, Laila is helping share Accenture knowledge that Ms. Oris Valiente would usually need to answer in-person or by e-mail.
She predicts Laila could save her up to one day per week in repetitive conversations and knowledge sharing that she typically engages in.
Plus, Laila can be in more than one place at a time.
“I’ll no longer be the bottleneck for various teams. On the flip side, I get more time back because I don’t really want to be having that conversation three times a week,” Ms. Oris Valiente says.
She says she can reinvest that time into things like career coaching discussions or taking her team out for lunch.
More Lailas in the future
Data from the Accenture Technology Vision Report 2024 shows 95 per cent of executives say making technology more human will massively expand the opportunities of every industry.
Ms. Oris Valiente says digital twins could augment the current work force, especially in industries or companies with constrained budgets.
They could also make experiences better. Imagine walking into a grocery store and a digital human was available to help you quickly make a meal plan for the week and let you know which groceries to buy.
“The ability for these digital humans to speak multiple languages and address queries from a very diverse population of Canadian constituents is pretty significant,” she says.
The Accenture report also shares a prediction that by 2026 three quarters of knowledge workers will use co-pilots – in other words, AI-powered virtual assistants – every day.
Take the SXSW example: A digital twin can do similar tasks for individuals, helping reduce monotony and create outputs faster.
The rapid evolution and availability of this technology may seem overwhelming, but Ms. Oris Valiente sees opportunity.
“We can try to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that none of this change is happening,” she says. “Or, we can roll up our sleeves and fully embrace it – and I tend to fall into that category.”
What I’m reading around the web
- Forget waking up at 5 a.m. – the latest workplace humblebrag is skipping caffeine. The initial withdrawal symptoms can be challenging, but putting the coffee down does have its benefits.
- As people live longer, it’s important to understand the difference between healthspan and lifespan so people can live healthier, longer.
- Creativity, in any line of work, takes vulnerability and courage. Read Andrea Pippins’s story about her journey into illustration and how ideation and embracing the “messy middle” has helped her let go of perfectionism.
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