Meet Zaein, one of South Korea's most active virtual humans, who was created by Pulse9, an artificial intelligence company that is working to bring corporate dreams of the perfect employee to life.
"Virtual humans are basically capable of carrying out much of what real people do," she said, adding that the current level of AI technology means humans are still needed - for now.The demand for AI humans in South Korea was initially driven by the K-pop industry, with the idea of a virtual idol - not prone to scandals and able to work 24/7 - proving popular with the country's notoriously hard-driving music agencies.
Doe-eyed with delicate features, fair skin and a willowy figure, she is brought to life by overlaying the deepfake on a human actor. A representative for Pulse9 said it is company policy that the identities of all human actors are concealed and their real faces not shown. "I'd love to try acting as a man if I can manage my voice well, and maybe a foreigner - something that I can't become in real life."Creating artificial humans will continue to require real people"until a really strong AI is created in future which will be able to process everything by itself", Ms Park said.
But Ms Park is not concerned. Her company is working on new virtual idols, virtual influencers, and virtual sales agents to take over customer-facing tasks for South Korean conglomerates, which are increasingly struggling with recruitment in a country with a low birth rate.