Digital Twins Are Coming—But Should They?
Digital Twins: Productivity Smart, Human Stupid?
Let’s talk digital twins.
They’re coming—and there’s no avoiding it.
At first glance, digital twins sound like a game-changer in the workplace. Imagine this: every email, every meeting transcript, every bit of digital input—harnessed to create a digital twin of you. The idea? If you get hit by the proverbial bus, your knowledge isn’t lost. Your twin lives on, contributing value.
But here’s the dilemma:
That twin might boost organizational productivity—but what about the human side?
Who owns your digital twin?
If you leave the company, does your twin stay? Do you still benefit?
If your twin continues to be used after you’ve evolved—are they just running “old code”?
Could you build your own twin and rent it out? To one org? To many?
The implications get even deeper when we think personally.
Some envision digital twins of loved ones—talking to them, hearing their voices, long after they’re gone. The tech is nearly there.
But should we?
When my mother passed, I imagined what it might be like to speak with her again through a digital twin. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to. Because grief matters. Loss matters. If we code away grief, do we also code away a fundamental part of the human experience?
Digital twins may very well be productivity smart—but they risk being human stupid.
As we design this future, we need to ask: Are we making work easier… at the cost of what it means to be human?