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The "Ultimate Selfie": Musings on the Future of our Human Identity

Profile image of Jacquelyn Ford MorieJacquelyn Ford Morie

Abstract

Identity in today's world is being radically redefined. We now have more personal control than ever for how we present ourselves in social and connected media. As scientists and developers, we make sophisticated simulations, in which we include a range of characters, but the ultimate question is this: how are we ourselves represented within them? What could we be doing differently? This paper presents a plan for embedding ourselves within simulations that is potentially disruptive, but could revolutionize the way we think about our once and future selves.

Key takeaways

  • Adding up the Q3 2013 numbers for all the worlds in each quadrant gives roughly 500 million avatars accounts for ages 5-10, and 1 billion avatar accounts for the age group 10-15.
  • In the story, the general was motivated by the less-than-optimal appearance of his avatar to get in shape, and by having his avatar do vigorous workouts along side of what he did in the physical world, he improved not only his physique, but his avatars' as well, as they were connected in characteristics and capabilities.
  • Beyond avatars, there are often a variety of other characters in virtual worlds and games that can interact with a user.
  • Especially for avatars that are inhabited, or piloted by human users, the idea of a learning avatar may seem contradictory.
  • My avatar in Figure 4 wants to convey to someone in a virtual world that she is embarrassed.

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