World of artificial humans

Neon can be a real game changer

The highlight of the CES 2020, the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, was the unveiling of artificial humans. STAR Labs (Samsung Technology & Advanced Research), an independent subsidiary of Samsung, had been hyping its Code R3 for months through a series of teasers on social media including tweets from its chief executive officer, Pranav Mistry. R3 stands for Reality, Realtime, Responsive, but the avatars displayed at the CES were called Neon, and will, in fact, be launched by a subsidiary company, also called Neon. Four Neons were on display on screens to interact with visitors. They were four lifelike human figures generated by massive high-end computers. They moved around more or less naturally and spoke in natural voices with natural cadences, and their facial expressions changed on the fly. According to the demos and the press releases, they will use a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to learn many languages and acquire other domain skills. But they will be “friends” rather than assistants.  

Virtual assistants powered by AI are a dime a dozen. There’s Samsung’s own Bixby, there’s Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and Cortana, to name some of the most well-known. However, Neon insists that its use case will be very different. These avatars will evolve into unique personalities as they learn the specific skills their users desire. Each has been created by taking video footage of real models that will be used to extrapolate expression and voice modulation in new situations. Hence, these avatars will be natural and lifelike in a way that virtual assistants cannot be. They will also need downtime as they will get “tired”, and they may not be as efficient as the Alexas and assistants when it comes to doing the usual tasks such as setting calendar appointments and searching for information. They will probably be capable of learning a wider range of skills than most assistants. The enormous computational power required for such a range of technologies will be provided by servers in the cloud with relatively little data being transferred to and from the users’ devices.

Deepfake and allied machine learning technology can generate astonishingly lifelike avatars doing a variety of things. Those avatars can easily be based on politicians or actors or sportspersons — the AI just needs ample video footage to learn enough to create its effects. Indeed, the pornography industry and purveyors of fake news have embraced deepfake with such enthusiasm that it had led to legal consternation. Several US states are contemplating legislation to ban deepfake porn, (usually “starring” well-known people) and Facebook has decided to kick deepfake videos off the network unless these are clearly labelled humour or satire. So, what is unusual about Neon? One is the combination of a portfolio of skills, which can produce an avatar that looks and behaves like a human, while possessing the potential skills of a virtual assistant. If this avatar evolves unique personalities as it learns, it would indeed be a “new species” as STAR claims, albeit one of digital DNA. 

However, the use case is rather unclear, and judging by reactions, the launch was premature. Reviewers claimed that the interactions were somewhat jerky, and mostly scripted. The company admitted that it was a long way from commercial release. It is also an open question whether an artificial human can truly be a friend to normal humans and there are deeper questions about the implications for psychological health if such “artificials” become ubiquitous.  

If, and these are big ifs, the Neons eventually deliver as promised, they would be a real game changer. An artificial friend that can meld its personality to be compatible to the user could offer levels of comfort to the digitally challenged. An AI, which can learn a range of skills, comes closer to the holy grail of general artificial intelligence. Could Neons eventually pass the Turing Test and become indistinguishable from humans? Maybe, maybe not, but that possibility is now lurking on the horizon.