philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

The Weeknd’s Avatar Can Be as Good as the Real Thing

... Marvin Gaye said it best: “Ain’t nothing like the real thing.” But it might not be so when it comes to concerts. Research shows that our social responses to avatars are comparable to those observed during real-world interactions, even when the avatar is controlled by AI, or its appearance deviates significantly from what we expect. ...

Moments shared in VR, for example, are stored in our autobiographical memory, the same place as lived experiences. In this way, virtual reality concerts are not just moving images on a screen. To your brain, that virtual stage dive just happened.

Even if you’re not strapping on an immersive headset, watching virtual avatars on a flat screen can stir emotions similar to those elicited in immersive VR....

These platforms also empower audiences to set their own boundaries. For the more than 40% of women who have reported sexual harassment at live music events, being able to block users or set interpersonal distances with other avatars by clicking a button means a safer fan experience. ...

More than half of millennials and Gen Zers report having an interest in attending a virtual concert. ...

See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-12/the-weeknd-and-kiss-show-the-future-of-virtual-concerts?utm_campaign=Weekly%20Spatial&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=286585327&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-86I199QCoaZWfAQik1g9ihZm1HKWv88TP2nY9gc3JO4aRZ99rF1qfT-jhQI5syebjVl3TAWyzjnwy_-ga9V56JjNm_VA&utm_content=286586799&utm_source=hs_email&leadSource=uverify%20wall