SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from Sunday’s episode of Big Brother.
When Big Brother‘s Angela Murray first set eyes on her A.I. avatar, she couldn’t impress upon her fellow houseguests enough that she was not the one talking and was definitely not the one making those nominations for eviction.
She was only half right; the nominations actually came from Quinn Martin, who won the power earlier in the season to override a Head of Household’s picks. But that was most definitely Murray’s voice, along with her actual image.
Before the season of BB began, all of the houseguests were asked to stand in front of a simple camera and answer basic questions. Murray and her fellow HGs weren’t told how their images and voices were being used; everyone assumed it was for marketing purposes or for future moments in the game.
In reality, it was so the tech wizards at Proto — the company responsible for the holographic communications platform used on the show — could create avatars that would do or say anything the BB producers would like, like a deepfake HOH that looks and sounds exactly like Murray. (They can even be manipulated to speak in, say, Cantonese or Italian, should the producers ever want it).
With the HGs’ images captured and their voices recorded, Proto is able to create artificial doppelgängers in a remarkably short amount of time. For Sunday’s episode, an avatar of Martin was created to wreak havoc as an A.I. Instigator, who’s meant to act out the devilish whims of Tucker Des Laurier. America gave him the power for a week.
Martin’s image, like Murray’s before it, was “physically projected within the glass” of the life-size box, or Epic as it’s called. It retails for roughly $30,000 and has mostly been used by retail outlets, hospitals, and universities … until now.
“We were the first in the world to do this [type of technology],” explains David Nussbaum, the founder and CEO of Proto and a self-described BB superfan. “All. you need is any 4K camera — even an iPhone. We have an app on the iPhone so you can put it on a tripod and hit the beam button. It’s like you are having a Zoom call on your side, but you’re appearing like you’re physically in 12 locations at the same time on the other side.”
The technology is especially popular with educators because they “can beam in remotely and give guest lectures from around the world.”
But some celebrities have already discovered its’ appeal; Howie Mandel, for example, has incorporated the Epic onto the set of his “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast that he also films for YouTube. (It helps that Proto leases showroom space in Mandel’s industrial building in Van Nuys, where he produces his podcast).
“We recently beamed Howie into the JFK Airport to mess with travelers,” says Nussbaum.
Along with Mandel, other celebs have helped Nussbaum demonstrate the power of his technology. Visitors to his showroom are greeted by three Epics that look like mini-star containers. But the real Camila Cabello is just fine; that’s her avatar in leather boots.
“We have a lot of guardrails in place so you can’t manipulate our content without the approval of the person who the content is being created for,” explains Nussbaum.
In other words, the BB houseguests don’t have to worry about Proto using their images after the game is over. “All the content will be destroyed,” he promises. “It’s for entertainment purposes. This isn’t A.I. It’s Big Brother A.I.”
When asked about the future of his company, Nussbaum says his business model is geared toward enterprise, commercial and retail. But he does hope that Hollywood considers what his hologram trickery can do. Proto’s participation on Big Brother marks Proto’s first major foray into TV.
“When it comes to Hollywood, I think the future really lies in the hands of the artists, the filmmakers,” Nussbaum says. “This is just a tool to allow them to do more things. Before the internet, people were afraid of it. Before the smartphone, people were used to going into their kitchen and using the phone on the wall. This is not something to be nervous about. This is something to appreciate and learn about. It’s used as a creative tool, not a replacement for anything.”
