Abstract

This paper presents a landmark longitudinal Delphi study examining how expert conceptions of digital human (DH) design have evolved over seven years. The original study engaged thirteen internationally recognised experts from visual effects, gaming, and research to explore the future of realistic DHs, particularly in relation to the Uncanny Valley. Findings emphasised the importance of interactivity, rigging, and behaviour over visual fidelity alone. In this follow-up, the same experts were re-engaged to assess how their earlier predictions aligned with recent advances in neural rendering, generative AI, and real-time simulation. The study reveals a shift from handcrafted pipelines to data-driven, AI-enabled design approaches, as well as growing attention to ethical transparency, hyper-real aesthetics, and the role of DHs as social agents. By capturing expert foresight over seven years, this research provides rare temporal socio-technical lens into the trajectory of digital human systems and of forward-looking design in Information Systems.

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