Using AI, this startup develops avatars that can convey emotions

Artificial intelligence company Synthesia has unveiled new avatars that it says can be used as actors.

“Expressive Avatars” Thus, Synthesia represents the fourth generation of avatars created using artificial intelligence (AI). Backed by Nvidia, the startup ensures that its new virtual creations are capable of conveying emotions by reading the text the user types.

To do this, they use an artificial intelligence model called EXPRESS-1, which “predicts every movement and facial expression in real time, perfectly matching tenses, intonation and accent of spoken language,” the company said in a blog post.

Prevent misuse

According to Synthesia, these expressive avatars can act like human actors. “Whether the conversation is cheerful or somber, our avatars adapt their performance accordingly, demonstrating a level of empathy and understanding that was once the preserve of human actors,” the startup said.

She posted several videos demonstrating the capabilities of these new avatars. In one such demonstration, the avatar reads three sentences (“I’m happy,” “I’m very angry,” “I’m upset”) in the tone of each corresponding emotion.

Synthesia technology is used by several companies, including Amazon Web Services, a division of the Amazon group that specializes in on-demand cloud computing services. “I saw the potential of this technology to enable engaging business communications across multiple languages ​​and scenarios,” said Tanuja Renderi, general manager of Amazon Web Services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Recognizing that its expressive avatars may be misused, especially during an important election year, Synthesia ensures that it has taken “additional measures to prevent abuse of our platform.” These avatars have actually already been used to spread false information.

The startup is notably part of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), which brings together several companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Sony, and which seeks to include information in AI-generated content to indicate its origin to users.