The Future of Avatar Economy : AI-Driven Avatars Versus Human-Driven Avatars
ChatGPT has been going viral recently. However, at STEPVR we have been innovating with AI for a long time to empower human creators. #artificialintelligence #avatar #metaverse #web3
Avatar technology is rapidly advancing, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to predict what the future of the avatar economy will look like.
Virtual humans can take many forms and be created through a variety of means. While some virtual humans are powered by artificial intelligence, others are created through motion capture technology that maps the movement of real humans, such as our iMetaStar avatar creator and controller. The debate over which type of virtual human is the future of the avatar economy has been raging for some time now.
Credit : Kakao
On one hand, AI-driven avatars have gained popularity as a tool for customer service, education, and other applications. On the other hand, human-driven avatars are becoming more sophisticated, offering a more personal and emotional connection with audiences.
In this blog post, I will examine the pros and cons of each approach, and argue whether human-driven avatars or AI-driven avatars will be the future of the avatar economy.
AI-Driven Avatars
Artificial intelligence is widely used to create virtual customer service staff, virtual lecturers, virtual employees, and more. One of the most notable examples of an AI-powered virtual human is XiLing, a hyper-realistic virtual human launched by Baidu AI Cloud in July 2022. This virtual human is claimed to be operational instantly, able to move naturally and answer questions, and is backed by a range of advanced technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), vision, and voice interaction. With the help of this livestream platform, people no longer need an operation team or any livestream equipment, as they can use an AI-powered virtual human to livestream 24 hours a day.
Baidu XiLing sign language digital avatar. Credit : Yahoo Finance
AI-driven avatars are a popular choice for many businesses, due to their convenience and efficiency. These avatars can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without the need for a human operator. They are powered by artificial intelligence and can be programmed to respond to a wide range of questions, making them a useful tool for customer service. The integration of various technologies, such as NLP, voice interaction, and vision, enhances user experience significantly. Moreover, AI-driven avatars have the ability to learn, improve and get increasingly effective over time.
MAVE, AI-powered girl group. Credit : Rolling Stone
However, there are some limitations to AI-driven avatars. Despite their impressive capabilities, they lack the emotional and human-like qualities that make human-driven avatars so appealing. AI-powered avatars do not have complex emotions, and their expressions are often stiff and unnatural. Additionally, AI-powered avatars are limited by their programming, and are unable to respond to unexpected situations in a creative or intuitive way. While AI-powered avatars can certainly improve customer service and make it more efficient, they are not yet capable of establishing an emotional connection with users.
Any AI innovation is based on a huge knowledge base and data base. AI-powered virtual customer service staff and digital employees are essentially search engines with virtual human appearances, but they lack the unlimited nature of real humans’ mode of expressions. The emotional and thought-based nature of human expression is impossible to replicate with AI, which makes it difficult for AI-powered virtual humans to establish emotional connections with viewers.
Human-Driven Avatars
Human-driven avatars, on the other hand, offer a more personal and emotional connection with users. This is because they are powered by real people, who can use their expressions, voice, and movements to create a more natural and human-like experience.
In order for human-driven avatars to succeed, they must be sophisticated and well-designed. They must have the ability to mimic human expressions and movements, and they must be powered by real people who are capable of creating a unique and engaging experience. This requires a significant investment in technology, talent, and time. Additionally, human-driven avatars must be able to establish an emotional connection with users, which is much more difficult to achieve than it sounds.
iMetaStar human-driven avatar. Credit : WeChat
Real people behind virtual humans have complex emotions, are constantly evolving, and can provide emotional connections with viewers. The emotional connection between virtual humans and their fans is crucial, as people need emotional connections to feel fulfilled, and this makes them more willing to pay the virtual humans. Real people behind virtual humans can establish these emotional connections through in-depth communication and expression, which is impossible for AI-powered virtual humans to achieve.
The use of motion capture technology allows virtual humans to be more lifelike and expressive, which enhances the overall user experience.
Xu Anyi, iMetaStar #1 virtual idol. Credit : STEPVR
For example, Xu Anyi, a virtual idol that is using our Avatar-as-a-Service solution iMetaStar, has accumulated 430,000 fans in just 100 days. He has gained popularity through his unique choice of virtual skins, innate charm, humour, and magnetic voice, which allows him to connect with his fans on a deep emotional level. AI-powered virtual humans simply do not have this level of emotional depth, as they are essentially just tools that help create a virtual persona. Xu Anyi's fans reward him during his livestreams because they feel a powerful connection to him as a real person, not just an AI-powered tool. At his best months, Xu Anyi earned up to 200 000 USD!
While AI-powered virtual humans may be more convenient, they lack the emotional depth that real people bring to the table. When it comes to the conversion rate of virtual humans, I cannot overstate enough the impact of emotional connection. As AI-powered virtual humans become more commonplace to use in automatic online sales, it will be interesting to see how they compare to real human avatars selling products on livestreams. The emotional response generated by real people will be very difficult to replicate with AI, which makes it unlikely that AI-powered virtual humans will be able to achieve the same level of success as real people behind virtual humans.
Enter STEPVR
As the founder of STEPVR, a leading company focusing on the creator economy in Web3, we insist that humans remain the most creative essence in all high-value business, thus we keep creators and influencers still at the center of our business models, and aid them with various AI tools to enhance their mode of expressions.
ChatGPT and other AIs are tools that lower the barrier of entry into the decentralized creator economy. More people can become creators and focus on creative activity itself despite political, socioeconomic, genetic, and physical limitations.
For example, we can use ChatGPT to give livestreamers more sources and options when chatting with their followers.
People like me who have two left feet in dance can pay more careful attention on the movement part while letting the AI polish and perfect how I appear to my audience.
We are currently developing a social media platform optimized for the metaverse as well that has many functions to be fulfilled by non-player characters (NPC), driven by ChatGPT and other AI assistants. Our AI technology is being developed mostly in-house, and it is going to be the perfect solution for the NPCs, giving them responsive and interactive language and gesture abilities to aid the main human characters creating content on this social media platform.
Our iMetaStar MoCap suit to create human-driven avatars. Credit : STEPVR
So, in conclusion, which will be the future of the avatar economy? The answer is likely to be a combination of both. AI-driven avatars will continue to play a role in improving customer service and other applications, while human-driven avatars will become increasingly sophisticated and personal, offering a more emotional and human-like experience. As technology continues to advance, it is likely that we will see a blend of both approaches, as businesses seek to find the right balance between scalable practicality and emotional connection.
STEPVR is offering solutions for individuals and businesses to create both human-driven avatars and AI-driven avatars.
Hey Dr Cheng! Thank you for your comment. Wow the “live streaming cafe” concept is brilliant. I love the limitless creativity!
I just feel $4,500 is very expensive for an individual to purchase the mocap suit needed to achieve 1 to 1 tracking. Since this is still new I hope content creators and individuals will have better pricing options to create inclusion and diversity. A lower price of entry will also allow creators to recommend the device as it gains popularity. New Vtubers should have options available under 1-2k even if it’s not the best or top 1 to 1 option. The industry should offer something to feel this void. Especially if they already have a avatar and Need tracking solutions like myself.