Get to know Sam, the digital citizen born to serve the Metaverse

In a completely white browser tab, Sam appears as a young blond girl with perfectly shaped lips. Sam is the future of the Metaverse, the virtual universe that Facebook (now Meta) and other tech giants are aiming for.

Sam is not a real person, she is a digital person, a virtual citizen created by technology firm Soul Machines in Auckland, USA. Currently, Sam can chat with people with short conversations. She uses a proprietary digital brain and can capture a person's facial expressions via webcam.

Get to know Sam, the digital citizen born to serve the Metaverse Picture 1 Get to know Sam, the digital citizen born to serve the Metaverse Picture 1

Sam and the other Soul Machines digital humans will run the Humans OS 2.0 operating system also developed by Soul Machines. Besides communication, Sam can also use hand gestures to look more natural. One day, Sam will be able to use other body language.

Metaverse is a game-like virtual environment in which people use avatars to live, work, and play. Instead of controlling the character like in the game, our avatar in the Metaverse will be ourselves, accurately reflecting the expressions, attitudes and actions we want.

And Soul Machines wants to fill the Metaverse with "digital workers" like Sam. There will be many different "Sams" with different shapes, voices and different names. They will play a supporting role, serving people in the Metaverse. If you have ever known NPCs in the game, you will definitely understand the functions and tasks of the Sams in Metavers.

What about the future? Soul Machines don't think their Sams will stop at NPC levels. "At some point in the future, you can create a digital version of yourself or multiple versions of yourself and send them out to work, make money for you, make money for the company. while you're doing something much more interesting," said Greg Cross, co-founder of Soul Machines.

Besides, as a digital workforce, Sams can also become healthcare assistants. Soul Machines believes that with Metaverse and their Sams, the medical and healthcare industry will have its biggest revolution ever.

It is difficult to list all the other jobs that Sam and other digital people will do and be done in the future. However, there are still many problems that Soul Machines must solve. The biggest problem is with technology, but the biggest problem is with the ethical aspect.