The larger-than-life digital avatar of George Takei looms over the actual George Takei. (Photos: George Toshio Johnston)
Takei energizes an Interactive StoryFile digital avatar project.
By George Toshio Johnston, Senior Editor
It’s the stuff of science fiction: transcending death by uploading one’s consciousness, memories and life-experiences tethered to this limited corporeal existence into an unlimited, eternal and digital incarnation.
Although that scenario is likely still decades away should it ever really happen, the next-best thing available with today’s technology is a digital avatar derived from hours of recordings made with a living human subject that gives a simulacrum of interactivity.
JANM President and CEO Ann Burroughs stands in front of George Takei’s digital avatar.
It was only fitting that actor George Takei, who played an iconic character in one of science fiction’s most-beloved and most-influential properties became one of five Japanese Americans to have a digital avatar made in his name, image and likeness that will, barring a hard-drive crash or other such high-tech mishap, “live long and prosper” well beyond the bounds of human mortality.
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The real George Takei — as far as we know — was on hand at the Japanese American National Museum’s Democracy Forum venue in Little Tokyo on March 19 for a press preview as the latest example of the museum’s Interactive StoryFile program.
“This is a thrilling morning for me, certainly, but for all of us,” Takei said. “I am very excited of the idea of going from here in the Democracy Forum of the Japanese American National Museum, from here to eternity.”
JANM’s Interactive StoryFile project, an initiative led by Cole Kawana of the nonprofit Japanese American Stories, goes back to 2019, when World War II and 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran Lawson Sakai became the first of five Japanese Americans to get the “Tron” treatment.
The largest public display of this technology came in 2023 at JANM’s 2023 gala (see June 2, 2023, Pacific Citizen, tinyurl.com/5ekjwkcb). It was at that event when June Yasuno Aochi Berk and Kawana showed off her digital avatar.
The digital June Berk looks on as the real June Berk shows off a copy of her favorite newspaper.
Along with Berk and Takei, in person on March 19 was Takashi Hoshizaki. The fifth subject, Mary Murakami, was not present to provide real-life answers to real-life questions about the significance of the project and the prospect of going digital.
“This opportunity that we were given by Cole Kawana is really, for me, an overwhelming opportunity to keep on keeping on beyond today in this form,” said Takei.
The five interactive StoryFile displays will be included at JANM after the in-progress renovations are completed early next year.
To see how this StoryFile technology works and interact with the digital avatars of Berk, Hoshizaki, Murakami, Sakai, who died in 2020, and Takei, visit project-heirloom.com/storyfiles.
— G. T. J.
Pictured (from left) are Takashi Hoshizaki, June Yasuno Aochi Berk, George Takei, Cole Kawana, Ann Burroughs, Bill Fujioka, Dana Heatherton and Carolyn Hoover.