Making AI Digital Friends in Augmented Worlds with Alex Herrity of Anima | S01E04

What’s the art of the possible when you blend technologies like AI, augmented reality (AR), and blockchain with play? Turns out, ownable digital companions that you can talk to and interact with, called OnlyBots. It's a new era of Tamagotchis, y’all.🤖

In this episode I sit down with Alex Herrity, who is a cofounder of Anima, a gaming and interactive technology company and has spent his career building consumer products that people use every day, including Fortnite, the Epic Games Store, HBO’s streaming apps, and his last startup Ultravisual that was acquired in 2014 by Flipboard. We touched on a wide range of topics such as: 

• 0:10 - Balancing time between personal life, being a parent and being a co-founder

• 1:04 - How Alex went from working for a theme park to building digital consumer products

• 3:40 - How his hobby interest in emerging technology became an exciting career journey 

• 5:19 - Finding the joy in creating technology that users love, admire, and use every day 

• 7:03 - How his ability to dive into unknowns were nurtured by his parents and the role having privilege played in his entrepreneurial journey

• 11:47 - OnlyBots, Anima, the future of companionship, and the possibility of building a healthy and fun relationship with a digital companion

• 22:36 - Their vision of enabling a way for people to create based on their imagination and the generation of builders on Roblox and Fortnite

• 25:30 - Ethical considerations that we need to take into account 

• 29:42 - His favorite examples of AR

• 33:40 - How AI is impacting the way we teach in schools and the repercussions when AI or AR disconnects you from reality? 

• 39:36 - The importance of redefining engagement metrics as new technologies emerge

Alex believes we need to thoughtfully shape how our physical and digital environments keep blending, instead of letting it evolve unchecked and keeping innovation grounded on bringing people together. He also sees a major role for emerging creators in building this future. 

What are your thoughts on Alex's perspective on digital companions? How do you see our physical-digital worlds evolving in the next 5-10 years?
Bio: 

Alex Herrity (he/him) is cofounder of Anima, a gaming and interactive technology company. He has spent his career building consumer products that people use every day, including Fortnite, the Epic Games Store, HBO’s streaming apps, and his last startup Ultravisual that was acquired in 2014 by Flipboard.

Alex founded Anima with his long-time collaborator Neil Voss, with a mission to use emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and augmented reality to make previously impossible games and toys. Their current flagship game is Onlybots, AI-powered companions that live with and talk to you. Onlybots is in beta and releasing widely early next year.

For the full show notes with transcript and resources, visit https://www.aribajahan.com/upnextintech/alex-herrity-anima

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