In 1996 I created LEO: A holographic sub personality. LEO did all the things SIRI and ALEXA do now…but much more…
Digital chaos a slacker cyberconference:
Sunday 2nd. June 1996. Introduced by Stanley Donwood:
The Leo interface is one of many ways that the system can be accessed. The establishment of a multi- access interface is central to the idea. A working prototype has successfully demonstrated the validity of such a system. The central core of which relies on an ’empathetic’ interaction. Leo is a cognitive experience that relies mainly on the means of response to establish a logical position or existence.There are fundamental differences between this system and any other I have seen. Unfortunately for copyright reasons I cannot explain them here…alas.
LEO is an empathetic interface who’s purpose is to allow each of us to become part of the cyber or VR world. Leo builds up a replication of the personality who he works with as a sub personality. You talk to him, ask him questions, share your thoughts family and friends with to the point LEO becomes a virtual you. He retains your memories, opinions, hierarchy of privacy and personal traits. More than a personal assistant, or an avatar…he becomes you as you build up a database of responses, data, facts and personality. Permanently connected to the WWW with access to any fact, view or news you could ever want to know. And your Great Grandchildren in the future can ask him what you were like, for in some part he is you?
An autonomous self, no wires no keyboard, just a human face with which to interact.
I decided after 18 years since I first showed him to a seminar in Bath, England, June 1996 and the potential of such a system, that the time had come to release all the information on him…before someone claims to ‘invent’ or patent such a system. Most of this information has been on this website for the world to view for over 15years. I’d just like at least someone to remember, I did it first.
After the Digital Chaos I was interviewed by BBC radio to discuss LEO; the reasoning being the BBC was showing their adaption of Dennis Potter’s ‘Cold Lazarus’ and the connection was appropriate. ‘Cold Lazarus was a literal head whereas Leo is virtual however not a million miles apart?
So did it work, you ask, did that glass box ‘engage’ with the audience?
Thankfully it did, possibly more because the assembled could see where I was going with it. It did work though I have to say. The moment at which LEO declared ‘Well if you’re all going to talk I’ll wait until you’ve finished’ had the same effect as a headmaster in assembly. What was happening was an engagement, LEO had taken on a presence, a position of existence within the group.
Hands up, the response sentence was, in this case, one I had pre programmed, and wasn’t spontaneous from LEO’s ‘mind’…but that’s just a technicality, I can easily make things like that happen spontaneously…with some further development.
No LEO achieved all I’d hoped…even with the background interference of the pub’s cooling system.
LEO existed, people gave him personal space, no-one tried to touch him or look round the back. No-one asked how it all worked…the technical stuff (which was a surprise) they just accepted him as a ‘him’.
So now the hard work of building up his memory, a virtual friend, self, companion, PA, and ‘front line’ to my personality. Hook him into my phone calls, emails, web browsing and my muses along country walks. Not to mention my political, religious and personal beliefs.
No more will I need to ‘remember’ anything because LEO won’t forget.
How many million pieces of information at his disposal before you can’t tell him from me?
I wonder?
The original image built up from single black pixels.