What’s Real Still Matters: Digital Twins, AI, and the Future of Trust

I just remember starting to watch the film and being exactly transported back to that time of sitting next to my grandmother, eating popcorn, watching The Little Mermaid as a child. So that was one of my really first experiences of, okay, a photoreal environment really can transform you to any place, any time as a human. And as we're entering the age of AI, where things may not necessarily be truly representative, I wanted to make sure that Global Objects is that standard, is that encyclopedia of the real world. [music] 

Hi, I'm Nicole McKinley. I lead Global Customer Experience at Microsoft. This is Simply CX, where we bring you stories about what it really takes to deliver great customer experiences. CX isn't simple. So in each episode, I sit down with leaders who are in it every day, unpacking what they're learning, what's working, and what they're still figuring out. When we think about customer experience, we often talk about speed, ease, trust, and consistency. But sometimes, the most powerful experiences aren't just about what works smoothly. They're about how something makes us feel. Today's guest, Jess Loren, is the founder and CEO of Global Objects, a company that creates photoreal, physically accurate digital twins of real-world places and objects, really mind-blowing work. Their work powers everything from film and media production to emerging immersive technologies, and it relies on cloud infrastructure that can handle massive data, global collaboration, and rapid scaling without compromise. But what I love most about Global Objects is that this story doesn't start with technology. It starts with memory, emotion, and presence, and how deeply immersive, accurate experiences can transport us and create real moments that matter. So welcome, Jess. I'm just so excited to have you with us. The story of Global Objects and what you have built and are continuing to create is just really awe-inspiring. But before we get into the technology, I'm curious, how do you explain what Global Objects does to friends, family, maybe when you're at a party? 

Yeah. So I'm digitizing the world. My team and I are trying to make a digital copy of everything you see around you in space. So how we explained it to our very first investor is-- he owns a bunch of land and is a farmer and also creates tractor-trailers for almonds. And I said, "You understand land. You understand physical space. We're trying to make digital copies of those physical spaces so that you can travel the world anywhere, anytime." 

So cool. When did you first realize that a truly kind of immersive experience could actually transport someone emotionally, not just visually? 

Oh, my gosh. So my very first moment when I really felt content affect me in a way was when a headset had just been released to the market. And being a techie, I got it right away, put it on. And one of the apps was Disney had released their ability to go into theater. And it was a very elaborate theater, the big, red curtains, gold tassels. And I'm a kid who grew up in Chicago. And when you would go to see a film in Chicago, you could go into these elaborate, almost opera houses that also doubled as a movie theater. And I remember going to these locations with my grandmother. That was our thing is we would go to the movies together and get popcorn and candy and I'm going to start crying. Oh my God. You got me like, oh. But I put on the headset. I went into the theater environment they had, and I put on The Little Mermaid to watch. And I just remember starting to watch the film and being exactly transported back to that time of sitting next to my grandmother, eating popcorn, and watching Little Mermaid as a child. So that was one of my really first experiences of, okay, a photoreal environment while watching content can really be this immersive experience, taking you back to a time in your life. And that's the principle of which I want to make sure that we're having at Global Objects that photoreal environments really can transform you to any place, any time, as a human. And as we're entering the age of AI, where things may not necessarily be truly representative, I wanted to make sure that Global Objects is that standard, is that encyclopedia of the real world, of places and times that existed, of objects that exist in their true physical state, measurements, weights, surface type, etc. 

I can see how this can really be life-changing and transformative in so many different ways. How did that experience with your grandma and that memory of being with your grandma and your tech depth and clear passion for technology shaped the way you think about immersive experiences and lead you to actually create your company, Global Objects? 

So believe it or not, when we first created this company, the technology wasn't fully there. The uncanny valley was still very much uncanny. Now we've caught up with the Gaussian splat technology, where you can take thousands of pictures and LiDAR, combine them to create a true photoreal 3D environment. But when we started it, even just three years ago, that really wasn't what it is today. So I jumped in, not really having the answer. Proud to say we have the answer now, but when we jumped in, we realized it's very hard to create a 3D photoreal environment, and it was very expensive. So I had an entire team working on what's considered a level, Unreal Engine level, and it was just taking us an ungodly amount of time to create and make these assets what I truly would consider a chef's kiss, right? Like, "Okay, we've done it. Your eye can't discern if it's real or not." 

So we've tested every technology out there from our use of cameras, photography and photometrics, and everything we've been doing of photogrammetry, and really have gotten to a place where now we're confident in saying, "We've gotten there, and we're in 2026 now, and we did it." And I fully believe that the world of AI, what we're getting into, and needing a data set that is true and real and accurate is so important. And I'm a mother of three children, and I see what's happening in education and how generative AI is just part of every single day now. What are my children going to see and learn from? What is the file set of everything that's being generated? I have this stapler on my desk. It's about eight inches. What is the future of that data set going to look like? And when you just think about everything that's being generated in the world, we want to make sure that it's real and true. And we're talking about going into space and living on other planets. We want to make sure that we're sending that data off that it actually did exist in real world. 

That's a customer experience issue hiding inside a data issue. 

Exactly. 

As AI creates more of what we see, people are going to need stronger signals about what is real, what has been altered, and what they can trust. Accuracy becomes part of the experience. So just for context, before we dive into some of the really groundbreaking capabilities that you've developed, who do you consider your customers? 

Today, our customers are studios. We're going to market with many different verticals now as well. As far as what we're doing in the studio space or kind of in telco is, imagine a set. Films have typically been done physically. And in the physical sense, you go to a location, and how we're helping them is by creating an exact digital twin of that set. So going in with our tool set of photometrics and photogrammetry and LiDAR and creating an exact replica of that set. And then there's so many ways that they can use this, even as final pixels. So I think what we've done a lot with Fox and what I'm able to talk about publicly is we took what is considered the Mystic Seaport and we doubled it as the Boston Tea Party scene. 

Oh, wow. 

So Rob Lowe was hosting a recreation talking about the Boston Tea Party. So we sent out our team to this seaport, and we spent a day taking millions of photos and then creating that digital twin of the Seaport. We brought back those files and then shot on what is called a virtual production stage here in Los Angeles. So Rob has a very busy schedule. There's also cost implications in sending a celebrity of that caliber to a location not close to their home. So cost-wise, it just made more sense to bring the seaport to LA. 

Wow. 

Which is exactly what we did. So you take an actor, you put them in front of what is essentially like a humongous television screen. And then with camera tracking and our environment, you can simulate Rob being at the seaport. And the viewer doesn't know any different because we now have these photoreal environments. So the implications are cost savings. You can be anywhere in the world at any time, and it really immerses you into that content as the viewer as well. So that's just one aspect of what we've done for our client inside of meeting entertainment. 

If you think of like oil and gas, for instance, or a wind farm, I live here in California, there's a lot of wind farms. We can go in, and, aerially, we can scan an entire large area of these wind turbines. And, say, for maintenance issues or you want to keep track of your turbines, we can have that entire field of, say, 100. We can narrow in and say, "Okay, this cluster of 25." So 25% of your wind farm, we want to keep our eye on in Q2, in quarter two of the year. Then we can narrow in. Okay. Of those 25, we want to put our eye on five of those units, and we can boil down into those wind turbines in our system that we built to say, "Okay. This wind turbine, its maintenance record, blah, blah, blah." And it brings scanning technology, photoreal ability for a technician to see that in real time, and then ontology. So you can get down into every single part inside of that turbine to understand the entire world that it brings together for maintenance records or what have you. 

So through our use of scanning, we've been able to uncover access to a tremendous amount of data, which is now photoreal for us as humans to understand and see, but also has so much more meaning in the world of boiling down that data and the use of AI to understand charts and so many more amazing things that this data can bring, even down to we had a request to scan a human heart. So imagine we can be able to study the real human heart now. And if there's a cadaver and understanding what that heart went through at time of death, just the future implications of healthy hearts versus hearts that maybe had a disease or whatever it might be. So scanning is such an interesting tool for access to the future of all-- the capturing that data in a place and time and then using it for the future of everything that is real and true for data and AI analytics. 

And beyond. Amazing. You've used the term photoreal many times. So help me better understand that. Does that essentially mean if you can photograph it or if you can scan it, you can translate that into a virtual reality experience or--? 

So if you've ever heard the term CG, computer graphics, in the past, we've been looking at graphics that were generated by artists, right? Now we're saying that those 3D environments can now be generated by just taking pictures and creating a mesh, and then making sure that the environment is true and photoreal. So it's a one-to-one picture. What we as humans look at as a photograph now can be a full 3D environment that is fully photoreal. So it's no longer-- 

Almost immersive? 

Yeah. So it's no longer that gamey look. Whereas you may have played video games in the past, what wasn't true real life, we can simulate a real world where you can play a game in now as photoreal. That's only happened, I would say, in the last 12 months. 

So if I am a moviegoer then and I'm watching the newest release from Paramount or something or Disney or you name it, would I know the difference between an experience that was generated by you in Global Objects versus an AI-generated experience versus an actual real experience? 

Yeah, so I think this is a touchy subject, right? The use of generative AI is definitely very strong and powerful. And there's a lot of different models. And the studios, like you've mentioned, are going through their, "What are we willing to accept and what is compliant?" And there's a lot of legal involved in all of this now. And I would say you, as the viewer, are not going to notice, but I put my business owner hat on. 

And as far as compliance, what we're offering at Global Objects is a future model that will be fully compliant and based on something that's real and sitting on a shelf and that we could say we purchased and owned. So what we've done is we've done a deal with the largest props owner in the world, Independent Studio Services. So some of those studios that you mentioned have all used their props in all of their film and television shows going back to the 1970s. 

Oh, wow. 

So ISS has 13 locations globally, and we at Global Objects have just secured a deal along with Microsoft through Azure to scan and digitize all of the props. So then we have that clearance, we have that compliance, and then we know that that stapler, again, going back to the stapler, is real and true and is this size, right? So every object that you're going to see in a film or a television show or any content that uses our library will be physically accurate. So you as the viewer can trust knowing that that content is as it was meant to be. 

And that's not to say your content is mythical, right? If that's the content you want to see, there's no real unicorns from what I can gather, but my daughter might tell you otherwise. But I would say that we want to come to the market as saying, "Listen, if you are using one of our environments, if you're using some of our objects, you will know that it existed in the real world. It is physically accurate." And I think the studios, which are some of our clients, trust and value that as well. 

Oh, yeah. I can definitely see that. So essentially, any image, content that you are creating was derived from the real thing. It's the real deal. It's just a replication of that using the amazing power of technology. 

Correct. And we don't want to take creativity out of it, right? Going back to the stapler example, if you want this to be a pink stapler and you want it to be a larger cartoon size, you can still derive it from the real file. But I think there's a way as a creator to come into that content and say, okay, I based it on a dataset that is real and true. There were modifications to the stapler to make it larger, to make it pink, let's say, when it really wasn't pink in the real world. 

And I think that's what I am looking to maybe create a standard for meaning and entertainment, and we can make those statements in content that's coming out. And again, going back to that example of what my children are seeing in the future is we can understand as a human, okay, this is content. 90% of this is real and true, 10% is made up. But then I think it's the Wild Wild West right now. So I want to be one of the people with our company having a set of standards and a set of guidelines. 

Fantastic. So I'm a big kind of period film fan. And I'm imagining going forward with the capabilities you're developing that Queen Elizabeth's crown or whatever it may be that is housed in a museum somewhere with your technology can be brought to life and then scaled through these technical solutions and show up in the next period drama. 

1 million percent. A large part of what we plan to go to market with, and you asked about some of our clients, is we have been working with museums and that cultural preservation aspect of it all, right? 

No, I bet. 

But I think there's so many objects that are so precious to so many cultures around the world is we can now create true one-to-one twins of these things and then showcase them to the world or have them be in content. We had the opportunity. You mentioned Paramount earlier. Paramount has the movie Top Gun. So for "Top Gun: Maverick," we actually scanned the helmet that Tom Cruise wore in the film. So now we have a true one-to-one twin of that helmet, even where there was like a little gash in the helmet where he hit his head. And that can be representative in our exact copy. 

If you think about the implications of this, so now that exact helmet that Tom Cruise wore, say Paramount, it's their IP, say they wanted to put it into skins for like a Roblox game or something. So then you, as the player, can purchase the skin that was originally worn by Tom Cruise. 

Wow. So you mentioned twins. What's the difference between a digital twin and photo reel? Or are they the same thing? 

No. I think the military uses digital twins that have that gamey look. We at Global Objects really truly focus on digital twins that are photoreal. And I think a lot in what is done in other industries isn't a true photoreal digital twin. 

So can you talk a bit about and help me better understand kind of why digital twins are so important and how are they used in the industries that you're engaged in? 

So if you think about defense, so our country, you can scan-- and I'm sure many countries, you can scan an environment and then have your soldiers tactically train in a one-to-one scenario of an area. That's used for simulation training. One of the applications that we did is we scanned a-- so there was a workforce that was used to driving diesel buses, and a certain city converted all of their buses to electric. So we went in and scanned this new electric bus and created simulation training for the drivers to not only learn how to drive this new electric bus, but also for maintenance. So I think there's so many different applications for these twins. We spoke about how you can use it for media entertainment. We spoke about the final pixel aspect of having Rob Lowe on that particular digital twin scene. But in other applications, in what is called pre-production stages, say you scan an environment, you have that environment in our product, which is called Go Scout. And in a web browser, you can understand and see that environment and comment with the many different departments that exist within a production. So think art department. Art department can start to go in and start to measure and see, okay, where's that couch going to go? You like period pieces. I'm a fan of Gilded Age in Downton Abbey, right? 

Love them. 

Yeah. So where is that amazing couch going to go in the scene inside the castle? Will that couch fit through the door for that scene? So there's a lot of sustainability aspects now that are coming to the forefront. So now we don't have to send 20, 30 people to a location to go scout the area. We can just have this digital twin where everyone can collaborate in the cloud on this asset. And it's to the millimeter. So you don't have to question, "Well, is the technology there? Yes or no?" And again, I'm going to use that fancy word photoreal. So us as humans are looking at the environment as is. Back in the day, everyone used to look at CAD files, right? So it was a representation of an environment, but it was just like squares and circles and the environments that people are looking at now are as is. We were just at a trade show and our team scanned the whole booth and sent it to some of the executives and showed the executives of the booth. And it is as is. That's what it was. Here it is. Make comments. And I think with these environments now, think about if you-- every viewer lives somewhere. So imagine if you scanned your home or imagine if you're a real estate agent and you're trying to sell a home and you want to scan that house inside and out and then be able to collaborate on the asset of, "Okay, let's paint this wall. We're going to put this furniture in here." And you can see some of that already. I think IKEA has like a try the furniture in your room aspect. But think of that on a large scale, like the entire house, the entire environment. You can comment and have access to every single millimeter in entire environment in Photoreal, in the ability to see it as is. It's mind-boggling, and it's here. 

Completely. It's here. Wow. Well, yeah, it's more than mind-boggling. I mean, it's so cool. And to be able to be in the experience, right, like in that place, whether it was 100 years ago or a week ago and how that can unlock new ways of planning and design and just creation. Again, the use cases go on and on. One thing that's interesting here is that there are multiple customers you're working with. There's the studio, the executive, the creative team, the technician, and eventually the viewer and user. So the experience is not just one final moment. It is the whole chain of people trying to see clearly, collaborate faster, and make better decisions. I'm curious now from your experience as you've built global objects and developed these new capabilities from a true kind of customer experience lens, what's been the most impactful in terms of the type of unlock or breakthrough that you've seen your customers really feel and say, wow, this is a game changer. 

Cost savings. 

Well, cost savings can sound like a business metric, but when an experienced lens is used, in this case, it can mean less travel, fewer handoffs, shared visibility, all to make the work easier for the people producing the experience. That friction disappears before the audience ever sees the finished product. 

Yeah, going back to the bottom line is, with that Fox example, we unlocked about $3 million in savings, which is substantial. So we're not talking pennies. We're talking six figures and savings. So I think in media entertainment, they're seeing it where, okay, I said earlier, you used to send out 20, 30 people all around the world to go scout these locations. Now you're sending a crew of two, three people to go scan a location. And then right away, you can upload that file to the cloud, have it ready in any environment where you can share it to your team. So now you're having cost savings and time as well. 

Absolutely. 

So in entertainment, many executives are based here in Los Angeles. We're shooting abroad in many of these productions. So say you're a large studio like a Paramount, as you mentioned, or a Disney, and you have 20 productions running globally, well, your executives can't be on location at all 20 of these locations, but the files can be at their desk and live, and they can not only is it web-based, but we've built it where you could put on a headset and walk through the set. So you can fully immerse yourself in that space in those scans. 

So number one, cost savings, but I imagine there's more that's starting to reveal itself in terms of benefits and in terms of just the ability to ideate and collaborate and create in new in different ways. Are you seeing any tangential additional benefits starting to emerge that maybe you didn't even expect when you first set out? 

We are so new into this. We just launched six weeks ago, but I'm happy to report we're growing like weeds. We're so excited about everything that's happening. I think in one particular studio, they started with the aspect of wanting it for just scanning sets. And now the engineering department realized, "Oh, we can scan all of our conference rooms and we can map out how we want things to happen in the conference room. Oh, wait, we own cruise ships. We can scan the cruise ships and we can start to understand all of that. We film the Super Bowl. We can actually scan the stadium and start to plan out all of our shots." So I think there's lots of these, oh, wow moments that are happening. And we're able to accommodate building a new features right away. With the process of vibe coding now, you can have smaller teams working on things at a faster rate. One of the original ideas of why I wanted to create global objects is I've never been to Egypt, and I want to be able to experience the pyramids. How can we make that happen? How can people maybe who are able to travel still experience the world? So think about someone who can't get on an airplane and go to Egypt. How can we have them experience that exact one-to-one moment? 

I mean, clearly you're a dreamer. I think I say often, if you can dream it, you can build it. The technology makes that possible now. Yeah Whether it's built on Azure or another product stack, like with AI, if you can dream it, you can build it. So when you think about what you're dreaming up next, what does that look like for Global Objects and for you? 

Yeah. So what I'm dreaming up next is having units accessible to people globally where they can start to capture their treasures and their objects that have meaning. Or maybe it's your childhood bedroom and having that file accessible to you. So I think we'll be able to get to a place where even on your phone and whereever the future of a personal device is, you can capture that with your own device. And then we'll have the platform where you can render and store in the cloud and have access to that data. So I think that's the future for what I see. And then the recreation of those environments, the future home is that you can change out your environment in your living room or your bedroom. You want to sleep by the beach. You want to simulate sleeping on the beach, that's all coming. It sounds so futuristic and crazy, but I promise you it's not that far away. 

Amazing innovation. In addition to being founder and CEO, I think you're a chief customer experience officer as well, because you're creating these really powerful, never-before-seen experiences. And I'm just in awe and grateful that we could have this time together today. 

Thank you. 

What stands out to me is that Global Objects is creating differentiated customer experience through capturing real environments and harnessing the emotional connection people have with the world around them. The more real the digital object is or the environment is, the more useful it becomes for planning, learning, buying, remembering, and creating. It's the object that creates the compelling and memorable experience. Thank you for listening to SimplyCX. I'm Nicole McKinley. Our show is produced by Larj Media. That's L-A-R-J Media. 

Special thanks to Elizabeth Machado. To find out more about today's guests, check out the links in the show notes. If you have your own challenges or questions, email us at simplycx@microsoft.com. And please share today's episode with someone you think could learn from it, and follow me on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going