Zoom CEO Eric Yuan recently discussed the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) avatars, or digital clones, in an interview with The Verge’s Nilay Patel and expressed why he thinks the innovation could revolutionize digital collaboration in the future.
A digital clone is essentially a digital representation of an individual during virtual meetings.
Yuan believes the innovative approach could lead to reduced time spent in repetitive virtual meetings throughout the workweek, thereby freeing up employees for more meaningful in-person interactions and higher productivity rates. A movement that he says could lead the workforce to adopting a four-day workweek.
“[I]f you look at just videoconferencing itself, I think we can leverage AI more and more. You do not need to spend so much time [in meetings]. You do not have to have five or six Zoom calls every day. You can leverage the AI to do that,” Yuan said in the interview. “Why do we need to work five days a week? Down the road, four days or three days. Why not spend more time with your family? Why not focus on some more creative things, giving you back your time, giving back to the community and society to help others, right? Today, the reason why we cannot do that is because every day is busy, five days a week. It’s boring.”
Yuan shared these insights during the detailed conversation where he elaborated on the capabilities and prospects of Zoom’s AI avatars. These AI-controlled avatars could become more effective as Zoom users personalize their avatars with their own specific Large Language Models (LLMs).
“We’re not there yet, but that’s a reason why there’s limitations in today’s LLMs. Everyone shares the same LLM. It doesn’t make any sense. I should have my own LLM — Eric’s LLM, Nilay’s LLM,” Yuan said. “All of us, we will have our own LLM. Essentially, that’s the foundation for the digital twin. Then I can count on my digital twin. Sometimes I want to join, so I join. If I do not want to join, I can send a digital twin to join. That’s the future.”
Zoom’s AI avatars form an integral part of the company’s broader Workplace 2.0 goals, which Yuan hopes will reimagine the digital workspaces. Another part of this vision includes Augmented Reality (AR).
Over the past several years, Zoom has rapidly evolved from being merely a video conferencing platform to a comprehensive enterprise software contender, competing against giants like Microsoft and Google for sizable market share.
Despite this ambitious vision, Yuan acknowledged that the required technologies, particularly AI and Augmented Reality (AR) are still being developed. However, with recent advancements in both technologies, he remains optimistic about their potential and believes that advancements will eventually culminate in a significant shift in how the workforce collaborates.
