Digital Humans Are Becoming the Face of the Computer… Interface

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Digital humans are poised to redefine how businesses, ranging from healthcare to entertainment, interact with their customers. 

“This is the incredible reality of digital humans,” says Jensen Huang, who runs $3 trillion company Nvidia (that makes the chips on which AI services run). “Digital humans will revolutionize industries, from customer service, to advertising and gaming. The possibilities for digital humans are endless.”

Nvidia Ace is a new suite of digital human generative AI technologies, handling automatic speech recognition, language understanding and contextual response-generation, realistic facial animation and realistic skin and hair.

Huang points to breakthroughs in multi-modal large language models (LLMs) and neural graphics as bringing us all closer to a future of “intent-driven computing, where interacting with computers is as natural as interacting with humans.”

According to Born Digital CEO Tomáš Malovec, “It’s clear that digital humans are not just the future of customer experience — they are the present.”

Digital humans are not simply glorified chatbots, he says. They use AI for natural language processing, allowing them to understand complex queries and even respond to emotional cues. 

“This level of sophistication enables them to engage in natural, flowing conversations, fostering a sense of connection with the customer,” Malovec says.

Nor do digital humans stop learning after their initial training. “Continuous learning mechanisms are built-in, allowing them to constantly evolve,” Malovec says.

“This eliminates the need for manual updates. In essence, digital humans operate like intelligent virtual sponges, constantly absorbing information and refining their abilities to deliver a more natural and effective user experience.”

Companies in customer service and healthcare have been the first to adopt Nvidia’s digital human technologies but use cases are cropping up in gaming and entertainment. 

“AI brand ambassadors are setting the next marketing and advertising trends,” said Huang.

Video Games

Aww Inc., a virtual human company based in Japan, launched its first virtual celebrity, Imma, in 2018 and has since become the face of major global brands in more than 50 countries.  

Virtual celebrity Imma, developed by Aww Inc.

Among applications in video games include the use of AI to create more interactive non-playable characters. Covert Protocol is a technology demonstration of this, created by Inworld AI that uses Nvidia’s tools to deliver speech-to-text and lifelike facial performances.

“The combination of Nvidia Ace microservices and the Inworld Engine enables developers to create digital characters that can drive dynamic narratives, opening new possibilities for how gamers can decipher, deduce and play,” Inworld AI CEO Kylan Gibb says.

Perfect World Games, a game developer and publisher, is using Nvidia’s tool suite in its soon-to-be-released game, Legends, showcased in a recent demonstration.

Players can interact with a fully interactive, realistic, multilingual, AI non-playing character in either English or Mandarin, all while the character’s audio responses generate realistic facial animation in real time.

Music Industry

An AI-powered digital DJ which fuses 3D technology from the world of gaming with voice cloning and motion capture, was demonstrated in a video promo for UK-based developer Sum Vivas on CNN.

The avatar is named Dex and is apparently building a social media following branching out from music into digital fashion.

“We’re working with record labels and with promoters on shows,” says Denise Harris, cofounder and CCO at Dex creator Sum Vivas. “We’re working with brands now to do influencer-type brand collaborations.”

“Utilizing digital humans integrated with AI helps to bridge the gap between technology [and] people,” said the aptly named Rob Sims, cofounder and CEO at Sum Vivas. “They don’t take holidays. They have the ability to be multilingual. And they learn and remember every conversation.”

“We don’t see this as a business that’s going to take over people’s jobs,” Harris asserts. “We’re going to create jobs to be able to create these digital humans that will help in businesses.”