Video calling service Zoom will soon be able to generate a realistic avatar of you, which you can use to say something to colleagues on your behalf in videos.
Zoom has several new AI features announced at its annual developer conference. One is a digital clone that looks and sounds like you, and that you can use to generate video messages. Zoom then generates the audio that resembles your voice and syncs with the avatar’s lip movements.
To create such an avatar, you first need to record a video of yourself, after which Zoom’s AI creates a digital clone with a head, shoulders and upper arms. Then you write what you want the avatar to say in the video message. You can then send them to others via the Zoom Clips function.
Not in meetings yet
With the new feature, Zoom says it wants to enable ‘asynchronous’ talking with colleagues in a ‘faster, more productive’ way. It saves you time compared to recording a video message, which often does not appear right in the first recording. For now it only works with the Clips feature. So you cannot yet send your avatar to an online meeting.
Risks
Zoom says it is aware of the dangers of fake videos in which other people are impersonated. The company has introduced some ‘safeguards’ to combat this, such as advanced authentication and watermarking. Tech crunch talked about this with a Zoom manager, but finds it unclear how the company can prevent the tool from being used by, for example, scammers.
The AI avatars will be rolled out early next year as part of the paid AI Companion add-on, which offers even more AI features. You pay an extra $12 per month for this. Without that paid add-on, with a Zoom subscription you can only use the standard AI avatars and voices to generate a video message, but it will not look like you.
Your digital twin is coming
Previously, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said the company’s ultimate goal is to enable a digital twin that can join meetings and calls for you while you do something completely different. “I can send a digital version of myself to participate so I can go to the beach,” Yuan said. It is not yet known when that will become possible.
Also read about the new options for video calling via WhatsApp.
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Source: www.bright.nl
