AI startup Synthesia on Thursday announced the launch of its"Expressive Avatars" — AI-generated digital avatars that can convey human emotions including happiness, sadness, and frustration.
The company said its"Expressive Avatars" can blur the lines between the virtual world and real characters. It aims to eliminate cameras, microphones, actors, lengthy edits and other costs from the professional video production process. Synthesia has a studio in London, where actors read scripts in front of a green screen to train the system.
The company's technology is used by more than 55,000 businesses, including half of the Fortune 100, to make digital avatars for corporate presentations and training videos, according to Synthesia. The company addressed concerns over how its videos might be used to create fake news content, saying publishers must sign up as enterprise customers to make synthetic avatars. Content made with its technology is vetted by moderators.The company also requires all of its new clients to undergo a thorough"Know Your Customer" process similar to that used by the banking industry, which helps prevent bad actors from creating fake company profiles to spread misinformation.