Google Project Starline hands-on at I/O 2024: 3D calling felt like a scene from a sci-fi movie

Five minutes before I walked into the demo room during Google I/O 2024 in California, I could only imagine it would be a demonstration of video calling but in 3D. I did not take it seriously and was almost uninterested in Project Starline. But the minute I sat down, looked at the screen, and saw a Google employee sitting across and talking to me, it completely blew me away. I asked myself if this was the future of virtual interaction.