‘The first ever live hologram of a war leader’, is how the organization describes the surprise appearance of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, at four leading tech events in Europe (TNW Amsterdam, London Tech Week, VivaTech in Paris and Brilliant Minds in Stockholm). . In total, he reaches the three-dimensional president about 50,000 conference visitors, of whom roughly 3,000 are located just outside Amsterdam.
When the digital Zelensky takes the stage on Thursday just after five o’clock, applause breaks out in a packed warehouse that has risen to tropical temperatures on a former industrial site on the water in Zaandam. The well-attended TNW tech conference is held here for two days. An hour earlier, there was a video appearance by the world’s most famous whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Zelensky is dressed as ever in an army green T-shirt, this time with the van Star Wars text that originated and evolved into an internet meme’come to the dark side† It is no coincidence that the president has chosen four tech festivals. With his performance, he wants to draw attention to a new project, called #FutureUkraine. In this he asks the tech industry for extra support for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Tech image
The hologram president fits perfectly with Ukraine’s image of a wartime tech-loving country. Led by the young Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Fedorov, the country is conducting a digital communications offensive that cleverly uses the power of social media.
The country is already receiving support from foreign tech companies. For example, Elon Musk sent StarLink receivers to Ukraine, while the country was also allowed to use the advanced (and controversial) facial recognition software of the American Clearview. This allows the country to identify fallen Russian soldiers and then send the photos of the dead soldiers to relatives.
The technology used for the hologram will be donated to the government of Ukraine and will remain in Kyiv so that local charities can use it in the future.
Is it like Zelensky is actually on stage? No, not that. It is mainly a projected man in a refrigerator. But the public is no less enthusiastic about it. And those who want to project the 3D president into their own living room via the screen of their mobile phone: that is also possible†
How a hologram works
Strictly speaking, the digital Zelensky is not a hologram, but a holographic projection of via various cameras recorded images of a person or object. The first is a laser-constructed, three-dimensional image of an object, while a projection (much like the ABBA concerts, for example) uses a projector and a transparent screen, which together create the illusion of a three-dimensional image.