AI Holograms, Digital Humans, and the Next Computer Interface | Raffi Kryszek

You can talk to an AI “hologram”, but what is it actually doing, and when is it useful? In this episode of An Hour of Innovation podcast, Vit Lyoshin speaks with Raffi Kryszek, a Chief Product and AI Officer at Proto Hologram, about the technology behind conversational digital people and the practical question of whether a humanlike AI interface helps people get things done. Raffi explains how the company's spatial displays and operating system developed from live remote appearances into a platform that can also present prerecorded experiences, interactive applications, and AI personas. They discuss how a spoken question becomes an answer, why the source of information matters as much as the avatar, and what changes when an assistant appears in a physical space instead of a chat window. You'll Learn: * What people are actually seeing when they call something an AI hologram * How a live remote person, a recording, and a conversational AI persona differ * Why Proto's operating system matters beyond the display hardware * How speech input, a language model, a knowledge source, and an avatar work together * Where digital people are being tried in public help, healthcare, retail, training, events, and advertising * Why a visible assistant can be easier to find at the moment someone needs help * How shared holographic displays differ from individual AR or VR experiences * What questions to ask about data retention, third-party services, model control, and guardrails * Which future interface ideas Raffi expects, and which remain speculative Raffi Kryszek is a Chief Product and AI Officer at Proto Hologram, working on holographic displays and the software that brings live people and conversational AI personas into physical spaces. His perspective comes from building and deploying the technology across several kinds of customer settings. His examples help separate a compelling visual demo from an AI interface that solves a real problem, and understand the limits that still matter. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:22 AI Holograms vs Chatbots 03:11 Proto Holograms: From Presence to AI 05:01 How Hologram Displays Work 08:00 Scaling Holographic Displays 10:40 Live Holograms, Video and AI Avatars 14:35 How Conversational AI Avatars Work 21:08 AI in Healthcare, Retail and Education 26:43 Virtual Try-On and AI Fashion 31:16 Celebrity Holograms and Live Events 33:01 Holograms vs Augmented Reality 37:22 AI Avatar Privacy and Data Security 40:06 AI Guardrails and Enterprise Control 43:34 The Future of Human-AI Interfaces 47:16 AI Agents and Portable Devices 48:37 Haptics, Neural Interfaces and Robotics 51:24 An Optimistic Future for AI 52:56 Innovation Q&A Connect with Raffi * Website: https://protohologram.com/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffi-kryszek Connect with Vit * Substack: https://anhourofinnovation.substack.com/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vit-lyoshin/ * X: https://x.com/vitlyoshin * Website: https://vitlyoshin.com/ Support the Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, you can support it by exploring the tools below. These are affiliate links, meaning the show earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. Kit: Email marketing that automates your growth. https://partners.kit.com/xqcc7ca2ahlm Google Workspace: A collaborative way of working in the cloud, from anywhere, on any device. https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/A7wH Riverside: AI-powered platform that lets you record, edit, repurpose, and distribute studio-quality content as easily as if you had a crew behind you. https://riverside.partnerlinks.io/frjgalhip1rz For inquiries about sponsoring An Hour of Innovation, email [email protected]