The better ones: the rise of human digital twins—our future or our demise?

Abstract Building on the recent Trump–Zelensky negotiation failure, this study conceptualizes the human digital twin as a crisis prevention tool that challenges the paradox of efficiency versus authenticity through the lens of digital empathy. It explores the potential implications of human digital twins, examining whether replacing humans with their digital representations can enhance their capabilities or pose risks to human autonomy, agency, and ethical behavior. Digital twins may have a role to play in augmenting human capabilities and emotions, but they should not replace the emotional and cognitive nuances that define us as individuals. Assessing the potential implications of human digital twins involves examining whether such replacements can enhance our capabilities or pose risks to freedom, decision-making, and morals.