One development in the field of artificial intelligence is the creation of AI avatars. A distinction is made between digital avatars and human-like avatars. Both types have a wide range of applications. From customer service, recruiting, and coaching to virtual assistants, these avatars provide a more realistic and personalized experience.

What are human-like AI avatars?

Human-like AI avatars are digital characters driven by artificial intelligence that exhibit human-like characteristics and behaviors. They can speak, gesture, and even show emotions, which distinguishes them from traditional digital avatars.

KI Avatare von Colossyan

Sample avatars of the provider Colossyan

Why AI Avatars?

The main advantage of AI avatars is their ability to provide realistic interactions. They can be used in a variety of scenarios, from customer service to entertainment, and provide a more intuitive and engaging user experience. The main arguments are scalability, cost efficiency and time savings.

Various tools for creating AI avatars.

The market for human-like avatars has seen the emergence of a number of software vendors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

How to create an avatar

1. Choosing the right tool

Consider the following criteria:

  • Cost - How many minutes of video can be generated?
  • Languages - How many languages is the AI avatar available in?
  • Professionalism of animation - Does the avatar look too static or do people think it is a real person at first glance?
  • Functionality - Can facial expressions be changed? Are there only frontal avatars or other versions? Is it easy to switch languages? How quickly can language customizations be made?
Colossyan_Editor

While editing, you can adjust a wide range of parameters such as backgrounds, sounds, languages, transitions, and more.

Clone yourself
Another version of these AI avatars are clones of your person - read the use case of the software tool HeyGen to explore this possibility further.

2. Implementation in the program

The actual creation of your avatar then takes place in the program of your choice, usually browser-based: you choose the person of your choice, the language, and then begin to create, step by step, the individual sequences of your video or presentation. Copies or adjustments are then made to take advantage of the scaling options. Specific information on how to create them can be found on the pages of each tool listed above.

3. Using the avatar

The first step is to determine what the avatar will be used for. This will determine the requirements and ultimately the choice of one of the available tools. For example, which and how many languages are important to you?

Avatar Beispiel von Deepbrain

For example, Deepbrain offers avatars for job interviews.


Application Examples

  1. Customer Service: Human-like AI avatars can act as virtual customer service representatives who can not only answer questions, but also recognize and respond to emotions.
  2. Healthcare: In telemedicine, such avatars can serve as virtual doctors or therapists.
  3. Entertainment: In movies or video games, human-like AI avatars can provide more realistic characters.
  4. Recruiting: A virtual avatar can replace the recruiter during initial interviews with potential candidates.
Elai Beispiel von Avataren und Präsentatoren

AI avatars have many advantages. Here are some of the most important:

  • Time saving
    Avatars can be created quickly after training and are available in many languages,
  • Cost Efficiency
    Using avatars is more cost-effective than using human agents.
  • Scalability
    AI avatars can interact with a large number of users simultaneously without compromising quality of service. This is particularly useful in areas such as customer service where scalability is critical.
  • Ethics and inclusivity
    AI avatars can be programmed to follow ethical guidelines and inclusive practices, which can lead to a more equitable and inclusive user experience.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations of AI Avatars

Uncanny Valley Effect

Avatars that are too realistic can make users uncomfortable.

Ethical considerations

AI technologies can potentially have a negative impact on society. It is important to ensure that the use of AI avatars is ethical and does not have undesirable effects.

Authenticity

The creation of human-like avatars raises issues of authenticity and identity.

Privacy issues

Using AI to create avatars requires access to personal data, which may raise privacy concerns.


Practical examples: Virtual news anchor - After Max Headroom comes Lisa

The television station of the Indian state of Odisha has announced that a virtual news anchor will present news around the clock. The special feature is that the language can be easily changed - a use case that can also be used in international companies in the future. CEOs and other executives can reach their local employees in the local language.

OTV, a private satellite news channel, has taken a remarkable step in the broadcasting landscape by introducing the country's first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor.

AI news anchors already introduced

The introduction of AI news anchors has already sparked debate in India. In March, Kalli Purie, Vice Chairman of India Today, Sana, introduced the first AI news anchor for Aaj Tak, sparking both curiosity and debate about the advent of computer-generated avatars in news.

The following month, "Fedha" debuted on the Twitter handle of Kuwait News, which is affiliated with Kuwait Times.

In 2018, Chinese news agency Xinhua unveiled the world's first AI-controlled male news anchor.

By merging AI technology with the images and voices of human anchors, a seamless virtual anchor was created. Ren Xiaorong, an AI-controlled anchor, allowed users to ask questions about the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held in March this year.

Conclusion

Human-like AI avatars offer a wealth of opportunities for realistic and engaging digital interactions. While there are many tools available to help create such avatars, it's important to consider the ethical and technical challenges. However, with the right tools and a thoughtful strategy, you can create powerful and effective human-like AI avatars.