In the virtual world the term digital twin has related mainly to recreating models of energy power plants, utility networks or large engines. The premise behind the digital twin is to be able to predict or model events and therefore understand the possible behaviors of the physical asset. This enables an organization to proactively deal with scenarios before they occur.
What is Changing?
Recently the “Digital Twin” has taken on a larger commodity, with less to do with energy plants or jet turbines, but rather the digital twin is evolving to represent objects or people within the metaverse. It has become a persona representing someone, their identity, views, preferences, and their desires. Organizations can tokenize based upon the predictive analytics of a person or object’s digital twin.
Our digital footprint shows in the virtual world our preferences and our views. We live our lives online and by building up a picture unique in that cosmos, we start to build a virtual image of ourselves.
Up to now the analytical ability has been quite linear, with focused advertising based on a person’s search history. The connection to wider utilization of a virtual persona is just being recognized. This may be due to privacy laws; it may be due to technological constraints, or it could be down to ownership of the data.
By recognizing the use of blockchain, a digital persona can, like the industrial digital twins, exist for milliseconds and be modeled over and over again without doing damage or leaving any lasting effect on the persona. An example could be a new financial service which links into health care but also identifies drivers over the age of 65. Less than five years ago a company would need open records to carry this out. With the advent of Web 4.0 the provider or user can experience the process virtually without any detriment and make the decision to complete the process safely and securely. In this model, the service is based upon real individuals but without the intrusive nature that exists online.
On the opposite side of the equation, I can shop just like in the real world as a user. I would offer my digital twin to define the fit before I buy. My digital twin can try on the service with its encrypted data persona and leave no record other than for the duration that the process is being tested or completed.
The Impact_
This could mean an end to the pop ups for cookies, and there would be no need to store these on someone’s machine. It could mean that data privacy concerns would be a thing of the past as applications, experiences, searches, and purchases are tokenized and the data stays safe. Validation is carried on the token rather than being physically held by companies.
Even this document could live as part of my digital twin. I publish it, someone reads it, someone wants to steal it and publish it, but these are my musings for today and tomorrow I may want to change it. In my persona, this document could be tokenized. You may read it, but in the future you may have to pay a token for my thoughts.