I met myself last week. At least, I think it was me.
Same hair, same tone, same “I’m fine, really” smile.
Except… she was born from an AI workshop at NEAC where I learned about a tool called Lemon Slice—a platform where you can upload a photo, clone your voice, and boom, there you are: a fully animated you delivering a script while your real self is off eating conference muffins and networking.
Naturally, I tried it.
Because who wouldn’t want to meet their slightly haunted digital twin?
It was… disturbing.
The face? Mine-ish.
The voice? Definitely mine.
But when it moved? That wasn’t my jaw. That isn’t my smile. That is Uncanny Valley setting up camp in my frontal lobe.
And yet—its good. A little too good (did they bring professionals in?).
I could use this fake-me to record short learning videos, intros, onboarding snippets, even my “welcome to the webinar” greetings. She’s efficient, tireless, and always camera-ready.
Honestly, she might be the most polished version of me that’s ever existed.
Which brings me to the weirdest professional development question I’ve asked all year:
If AI can perfectly mimic your Skills, Network, Activities, and Knowledge… what’s left for you to develop? The answer, I think, is presence.
The uncopiable human weirdness that makes people listen, connect, and trust. The subtle way we fumble, recover, and recalibrate in real time.
AI can mirror us, but it can’t bring meaning like we do.
So yes; I now have a digital clone. She’s competent, unbothered, and already booked solid.
But the real me? I’ll keep showing up, jaw slightly off, hair not quite perfect, making human progress the old-fashioned way: through awkward, wonderful, authentic learning.
Tell me—would you let your clone do the talking? Or does that feel a little too… UNCANNY!