The Avatars Show e01 (an alternate dimension of the SPARTIE-verse)

Dr. Swati Pandita joins Robby to discuss avatars, they're favorite academic subject! Welcome to The Avatars Show -- a new dimension of SPARTIE Cast. We speculate on Netflix's avatar direction post acquisition of Ready Player Me (the cross-platform avatar provider that led the market), taking inspiration from Fortnite, virtual concerts, vtubers, and book clubs. Perhaps the fundamental goal is social connection oriented toward the stories we share. Avatars may serve as an enhanced means of bringing people together -- in a time of increased social anxiety and political polarization -- by reducing the harrowing cues that trigger social distance. Here's the VRChat world we discussed, Beyond Meet Space. We also talked about AI-vatars (akin to digital twins) -- LLM-powered representations of you that can serve as your assistant, self-similar friend, etc., thinking through research on how they might be used in educational contexts, health, well-being. Color theory (and avatars) also worked into the conversation as well.