By: Pickle

There’s a growing sense of burnout happening. It’s not just from late nights, back-to-back meetings, or weekend Slack pings. It’s the quiet exhaustion of feeling like you always have to be on. Always smiling for the camera. Always nodding through the fifth Zoom call of the day. Always proving you’re present—even when your brain is elsewhere. That’s the mental tax Pickle, an AI startup building real-time voice-to-video “body doubles,” is working to address.

By allowing professionals to show up in meetings without physically being on camera, Pickle is exploring new ways to redefine what presence can and should look like in the modern workplace. In a time when the expectation to appear productive is often as burdensome as the work itself, this kind of relief isn’t just novel; it could be necessary.

Digital Presenteeism May Be the New Office Politics

Work might’ve gone hybrid or remote, but the expectation to perform presence appears to have intensified. In the pre-pandemic office, “looking busy” meant hovering near your desk, staying late, or being visibly active in meetings. Today, it often means keeping your camera on, maintaining an alert expression, and chiming in with polished input—even in conversations that don’t require your live attention. The culture of digital presenteeism seems to have taken root, and it’s quietly reshaping the way we approach productivity.

The tools may have changed, but the pressure hasn’t. If anything, it’s increased. There’s a widely held belief that availability equals value, that if you aren’t actively seen in every conversation, your contributions might be forgotten or ignored. As a result, professionals often spend large portions of their day performing attention rather than doing the kind of focused, strategic work that can actually drive impact.

Why We Still Show Up When We Don’t Always Need To

Despite the rise of async tools and flexible schedules, many professionals still default to live meetings—whether they need to or not. Part of that is habit. Part of it is fear. The fear of missing out is real; if you’re not there live, what if you miss a key detail, a subtle shift in tone, or a conversation that could impact your work?

There’s also the fear of being judged. Cameras-off might signal disengagement. Silence could be mistaken for apathy. Then there’s the fear of invisibility—the worry that if you’re not in the (virtual) room often enough, people might start to forget you’re part of the team.

These fears aren’t irrational. They’re rooted in real workplace dynamics. But they lead to a culture where being present is often more about optics than outcomes.

What AI Body Doubles Can Do

This is where the potential of AI body doubles could feel less like a sci-fi gimmick and more like a practical shift. Pickle’s technology allows users to generate real-time, lip-synced video representations of themselves during video calls. Using just your voice, the AI generates a fully animated, professional-looking version of you, one that can be present in meetings, deliver messages, and maintain your presence without demanding your physical or emotional energy.

This kind of delegation isn’t about replacing humans with AI. It’s about helping humans protect their time and attention for the moments that matter most. Imagine being able to provide an update in a recurring meeting. Or “attending” a team sync at midnight without sporting those designer bags…under your eyes. These scenarios aren’t uncommon; they’re daily pain points for anyone navigating hybrid schedules, global teams, or stacked calendars.

It’s Not About Hiding—It’s About Boundaries

There’s often an instinctive discomfort around using technology to stand in for ourselves. The idea of an AI body double might raise questions about authenticity or trust. But that framing may miss the point. This isn’t about deception—it’s about boundaries. It’s about recognizing that the cognitive and emotional toll of constant visibility can be unsustainable and giving people tools that let them reclaim agency over how they show up.

For some, that could mean reserving a live presence for client calls or creative collaboration. For others, especially neurodivergent workers, parents managing caregiving schedules, or team members spread across time zones, AI representation might help reduce burnout and improve balance.

Redefining What It Means to Be Present

The workplace has already evolved in countless asynchronous ways. We don’t expect real-time replies to emails. We embrace collaborative documents over marathon meetings. Yet when it comes to video calls, there’s still a lingering sense that being there live is the only way to signal commitment.

That thinking may be outdated. Presence should be about contribution, not choreography. Pickle’s body double technology offers a way to rethink that assumption in a way that feels both futuristic and deeply human. It doesn’t eliminate the need for connection—it simply asks: When does connection require my live presence, and when doesn’t it? That small shift in thinking could open the door to a more humane model of work—one where professionals are trusted to know when and how they engage.

The Future Isn’t Less Human… It’s Potentially More Humane

The myth of “always on” productivity is finally being questioned. People are tired of performing energy they don’t have. They’re craving deeper focus, more autonomy, and work rhythms that respect both their time and mental bandwidth.

AI is unlikely to solve burnout overnight. But it could take the edge off. It might redistribute the load. And sometimes, that’s the realistic shift of all.

In the end, the goal isn’t to be less human. It’s to make work more humane. If technology can help us get there—even if it shows up looking like us on screen—maybe that’s a future worth exploring.

Curious about what it feels like to send your digital double to the next meeting? Learn more at getpickle.ai.

Disclaimer: The use of AI-powered body doubles, such as Pickle, should be done in accordance with workplace guidelines, terms of service agreements, and ethical standards. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not intended to advise or encourage any behavior that could violate company policies, legal agreements, or professional ethics. Users should exercise discretion and transparency when utilizing AI tools in professional settings to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and to maintain trust and accountability in the workplace.

Published by Joseph T.