Mark Zuckerberg’s recent metaverse avatar demonstration has stunned even his biggest critics. In an hour-long interview on the Lex Fridman podcast, Zuckerberg and Fridman used photorealistic avatars facilitated by Meta’s Quest headsets.
The sophistication of the technology impressed many on crypto Twitter. Users like Gaut acknowledged the metaverse is “officially real” after routinely poking fun at Meta’s cartoonish avatars.
The avatars utilized Meta’s cutting-edge Codec Avatars system for real-time facial tracking. Observers noted forgetting they weren’t seeing the physical Zuckerberg.
“I’m already forgetting that you’re not real,” remarked Fridman during the discussion. The technology’s realism evoked a feeling of Zuckerberg’s presence despite using digital avatars.
Codec Avatars remain years away from everyday consumer use, requiring expensive computing power. But Zuckerberg aims to eventually enable avatar creation through smartphone scans.
This demonstration follows Meta’s unveiling of its ChatGPT rival Meta AI. It highlights Meta’s persistent metaverse investment despite widespread mocking of its early visuals and mechanics.
For now, photorealistic avatars require specialized cameras and computing hardware. But if Meta can scale access, its metaverse ambitions may convince more skeptics.
Crypto Twitter users typically quick to poke fun gave rare praise to this demo. The visual fidelity achieved through Codec Avatars got even Meta’s biggest critics to acknowledge its potential.
