Digital Twin is an exact digital replica of anything that exists in real world. It can be 3D visualisation to simulation of anything. We are so close to developing behavioural digital twin very soon.
FireSat - Realtime Forest Fire Monitoring
In the recent Google I/O '25 Keynote event, Sundar Pichai made a huge announcement, he introduced FireSat, a satellite constellation developed in collaboration with partners like Muon Space and the Earth Fire Alliance. A satellite constellation network similar to Starlink but for taking images of Earth from the satellite orbit. (1)
So what does this satellite network do? It can take multispectral high resolution picture of earth equivalent to 270 sq. ft. (25 sq. metres) on each pixel, meaning each pixel on your screen would be equivalent to 270 sq. ft. area on earth. With the help of AI, this technology can monitor forests in real-time and distinguish actual fires from other heat sources like smokestacks. Is this a big breakthrough? Yes! Lets not forget it’s not a dead end to fine tune the resolution of images. In coming years they will definitely take better resolution images. The concern here is this level of resolution is seen with military grade surveillance satellites to monitor borders and sensitive areas and this surveillance data is confidential and the findings are never disclosed publicly.
It’s a common practise to take satellite images for GPS and mapping. Currently, these satellites take pictures of a region, say a city, once in 1 - 2 days. For example, if the satellite captures a photo of Delhi today, it will capture the photo of same location after 1-2 days in order to update the changes. But with the satellite constellation like FireSat, the images of each region would be taken every 20 minutes. That’s a significant hike in frequency of 1 picture per 20 minutes than present scenario of 1 picture per 1 - 2 days, practically implying constant surveillance by the satellite network.
FireSat is a technology developed by Google for constant surveillance of forest to locate Forest Fires and inform to public safety agencies to act promptly before they become disastrous.
The Nightmare - Public Surveillance
Disclaimer: The technology mentioned from here on is not feasible yet. This is pure speculation and it can become reality pretty soon.
FireSat is a huge leap in technology. It will help with monitoring forest fires and stopping them promptly, disaster management and rescue operations and monitoring crop in fields. If these satellites were to form a network everywhere, each and every person will come under its surveillance. These satellites would be equivalent to surveillance cameras in sky watching your movements in real time. The nuances of who can control the data and the threat of anyone can hack into those cameras to misuse this technology for stalking, or for the matter of fact planning assassination is scary. This reminds me of a movie scene where satellites are equipped with weapons that can kill anyone on earth from it’s orbit.
This isn’t even the scary part. Even though technology like FireSat can’t take high resolution images to recognise humans(yet), it can still recognise large public gatherings as cluster of dots. This will soon advance to a point where individuals will look like dots and cars like blocks. To a point where it can monitor when and where that dot and block is moving around the city. This is the high level surveillance stuff that intelligence operatives like RAW, CIA, FBI do to monitor and understand behavioural patterns in suspects, i.e., high level stalking. (3)
Technology like FireSat when fine tuned and developed for surveillance, can be misused to monitor and spy general public.
A wild hypothesis - Behavioural Digital Twin
Lets assume the city I live in has this well connected satellite constellation network, lets call it SurvSat. Now this satellite network would capture multiple photos of my city every 20 minutes. These photos will not exclusively be taken for spying on me but they will definitely include data like when I get out of my house and to what places I visit frequently like convenience stores, gas stations, hospital and friends. Now if a week’s data is fed to an AI model, it would flag all the locations I visit frequently.
After a month, it will have a lot of data about me implying increasing accuracy. Now by processing this data, this step is way faster now with all the AI advances, the model will make out a pattern of my habits and routines. Now to check the validity of this pattern, lets assume it will start predicting my next move and checking if that’s what really happens. This is when the AI will fine tune my behavioural patterns. Within a year, it will have an exact replica of my behavioural being - A behavioural digital twin straight from the future. Why future? Cause its not just predicting my behavioural patterns, but everyone around me that influence how my day goes. If all this data is converted into a digital world, similar to a metaverse, the AI model is practically running a simulation of real world.
This would be the ultimate gameplan of Behavioural Digital Twin model - a digital replica of one’s habits and routines.
Malice that this model would bring
With this data, as we are all familiar with how Meta used user personal information to run targeted ads, this technology would make it more easier to for the “big companies”. At some point we will lose free will to make decisions because these models will tap into our vulnerabilities and sell things we don’t even need with coercive and well planned tactics based on the behavioural patterns.
Can’t be sure if this is how everything would playout but after watching all those Sci-Fi movies like Minority Report, Enemy of the State, Black Mirror, The Truman Show and those turning into reality, it doesn’t seem like fiction anymore. The most close version of behavioural twin AI model was depicted in CTRL movie. This movie depicts how AI assistant can be dangerous, and practically main character is under it’s surveillance 24x7.
With this advancements with high potential for misuse becoming a new normal would mean these threats would become a new normal. We will have a lot more serious problem in future that would need further innovations implying there is no end to the advancement of science and technology. The saying, “The universe would never reach an equilibrium state” is what fuels the hope to move forward and innovate.
Advent of Behavioural Digital twin means it gives access to your vulnerabilities which can be exploited without your knowledge. Access to whom? The most powerful monopoly!!
Ethical Considerations
With technology like FireSat, Transparency with clear communication about data collection, usage, and storage practices is essential. Regulating this technology with guidelines to govern the use of such technologies can prevent potential misuse. Public(you) who would be the most vulnerable to privacy breach should be involved in discussions about surveillance technologies to foster trust and accountability.
As general public, the most vulnerable group of people if this tech becomes a reality, we should voice our concerns and demand for regulation of such technology.
Let’s hope for the best :fingers crossed: !
PS: This scenario may or may not be the future. It all depends on how this kind of technology is regulated.
References:
Google I/O '25 Keynote | YouTube
Moving beyond 3D digital representation to behavioral digital twins in building, infrastructure, and urban assets | ScienceDirect
References to this sentence are docuseries of intelligence operations like most recent American Manhunt - Osama bin Laden
FireSat | GoogleResearch
CTRL movie | Netflix
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