.png)
Marketing
Oct 3, 2024
In a recent interview with Jordi Torras from Torras AI, Tyler Merritt, the Field CTO of UneeQ, shared exciting insights into the world of digital human technology. UneeQ specializes in creating hyper-realistic AI-driven digital humans designed to revolutionize customer interaction and engagement.
Making AI humanlike, but not human
In the above interview, Tyler highlights the importance of blending technology with artistic talent to create digital humans that are both realistic and approachable, but not indistinguishable from real people.
The goal is to create fun, memorable experiences between people and AI, while avoiding the "uncanny valley" effect, ensuring users feel comfortable interacting with AI.
Tyler also discusses how UneeQ digital humans are purposefully created using CGI to inhabit 3D space. This makes more immersive experiences possible – for instance, being prepared for extended reality experiences that 2D video GAN techniques can’t inhabit.
Technical challenges and success stories
Synchronizing lip movements with speech in real-time is one of the primary challenges. UneeQ uses advanced 3D point cloud techniques to overcome this and has seen remarkable success with clients like Deutsche Telekom and Qatar Airways, enhancing customer experiences and boosting engagement.
With Deutsche Telekom, Tyler explains how the telco giant’s digital AI assistant is designed to improve buyer confidence, by taking the time to talk to them, understand their needs, and provide a judgment-free conversation – and, ultimately, a solution. Deutsche Telekom, Tyler explains, saw more than a 5x improvement in their online conversion rate as a result.
Meanwhile, Jordi points out that as a non-native English speaker, being able to see the lips of the person (or avatar) speaking helps people understand the message being spoken by AI, more so than voice-only technologies.
The future of AI
Looking ahead, Tyler envisions AI playing a significant role in everything from conversational interfaces to space exploration. As AI continues to evolve, its integration into daily life will grow, making interactions more efficient and emotionally resonant.
Tyler points out the increasing sophistication of techniques like RAG in artificial intelligence to accelerate the experiences brands can launch for their customers. He also expects a continued growth in AI created videos, such as news reporting, which can create AI people in video content very quickly – a distinction from conversational digital humans people can get guidance from in real time.
Tyler's vision for digital humans is not just about technology but about creating meaningful connections between humans and AI. This approach is setting the stage for the future of customer interactions.
