Tech that predicts future? Digital twins to soon become a reality

Have you heard the saying that everyone has seven doppelgangers? This means that each of us supposedly has seven people that look exactly like us. They may be in different parts of the world and completely unrelated to you, but if the saying is true they exist. Chances are you'll never meet your doppelgangers but what if you could create one...online?

As per some experts, this may soon be a reality. Metaverse, a digital world exists and in about a decade we may be able to create our digital twins that live a completely separate life in the digital world.

Digital twins are now the new, talked about technology trend reports BBC. They are the exact replica of something in the tangible world, but with a unique mission. They would exist to help improve their physical world selves, providing feedback to the real-life versions.

As per tech analyst Rob Enderle, the first version of human digital twins may exist 'before the end of the decade'.

The Internet of things, makes use of sensors to connect real life to a digital one and artificial intelligence makes it possible that such digital "twins" can become a reality.

However, as per Enderle, this can be a problem too. A thinking online version of you can be an asset to your employer. What if they choose to replace you with a version they don't have to pay for?

As per him, the ownership of digital twins will be one of the most defining questions of the imminent metaverse era.

But will these twins be able to predict a hundred per cent the course of our lives? Professor Sandra Wachter a senior research fellow in Artificial intelligence at Oxford University says no. As per her AI is not yet good at predicting these complex "single social events". She says that whether someone will be successful or not, commit a crime etc will depend on the much-debated "nature vs nurture debate" and also good, and bad luck, the people that surround us and personal choice.

The real value of this technology lies in its use in healthcare. It can help doctors test out the "what if" scenarios. Let's, for example, say that a patient with a bad heart needs surgery and it is a complicated one, doctors can test out the various procedures on the digital twin of that person's heart and land upon the optimal procedure.

Dassault Systemes' Living Heart has already created an accurate virtual model of the human heart that can be tested and analysed.

Added bonus: this also saves numerous animals from unnecessary and painful experiments.