Digital Replica

A computer-generated, highly realistic representation of a real person's voice, appearance, or likeness — created using AI without requiring their actual participation. Unlike simple editing or enhancement of existing recordings, a digital replica is synthetically generated from scratch or heavily reconstructed to be convincingly indistinguishable from the real individual.

Digital replicas can be created with consent (e.g., licensed for film dubbing, posthumous performances, or accessibility tools) or without it — in which case they overlap with Deepfake and Digital Doppelganger territory. The key distinction from a Synthetic Persona is that a digital replica is modeled on a specific real person, not a wholly invented identity.

The term has become central to emerging law and policy: as of 2025, dozens of US states have enacted legislation requiring performer consent and transparency in commercial use of digital replicas. California (AB 1836), New York (S7676B), and Tennessee (ELVIS Act) are among the most prominent. The proposed federal NO FAKES Act would establish a nationwide right of publicity covering digital replicas.

See also: Deepfake, Digital Doppelganger, Synthetic Media, Synthetic Persona, Voice Cloning.