Apple introduced the concept of Animoji a little over two years ago with the iPhone X, and the idea has since become very popular among iPhone users. Thanks to the TrueDepth front camera on some of the newer iPhone models, it’s possible to created Animoji – animated emoji – that have expressions just like the user. A year later, it brought out Memoji, which are pretty much the same thing, but instead of using an emoji animal as the base for the animated emoji, it uses a model of the user’s face. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan seems to have just discovered (or possibly rediscovered) Memoji, as detailed by a new post published by him on Instagram.
The senior actor has posted a series of images of Memoji in his likeness, making various expressions. The images are accompanied by a write-up by Bachchan, in which he jokingly suggests that because of artificial intelligence and other futuristic tech, Memoji could be the future of human interaction and acting. The end of the post has him dismissing his earlier statements as humour, finally suggesting actors would not be replaced by animated emoji.
The light-hearted banter from Bachchan comes not too long after he and various other celebrities were called out for spreading misinformation through their social channels. Such communication can be particularly harmful, as celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan are followed by millions of people through their various social media profiles.
While many celebrities have publicists and professionals handling their online presence, Bachchan interestingly seems to be personally in control of his verified profiles on Instagram and Twitter. The wording and style of the post suggests that he has probably written and posted this himself.
iPhone devices with Face ID can be used to create Animoji and Memoji, which are animated based on the expressions and movements of the user. These can be saved as images or short clips, and sent over instant messaging or social media services for personalised reactions.
