Five months later, ChatGPT debuted, and the buzz that had surrounded the metaverse ever since Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta Platforms Inc shifted to artificial intelligence. Leon and other, human officers focused on the metaverse — an immersive digital reality where people can interact with one another — quickly became an endangered species.
Advertising giant Publicis Groupe made an unusual executive hire in mid-2022 – a lion-headed digital avatar named Leon who would serve as “chief metaverse officer,” guiding clients through the virtual realm that had seized real-world attention.
His moment in the spotlight didn’t last long.
