What A.I. Avatars Mean For Business
I Just Spoke To A Robot
I called my local bank today… ironically to set up an in-person appointment… and ended up having a full conversation with an A.I. representative. I listened to it listing my options, and asking for my specific requests, then clearly hearing and understanding my responses, and what I was asking for. This struck me more deeply than interacting with a Chatbot due to the nature of it being a voice-to-voice interaction. Which got me thinking… how far have full-blown, interactive A.I. Avatars come?
When I say “full-blown, interactive A.I. Avatars” I mean A.I. that has not only voice, but a visual representation of face, or even a visual representation of a body, that gestures and moves in an intelligent way. Think of the pop-up holograms from Star Wars, or the “holodeck” from Star Trek, where the hologram can talk back to you. For those that played video games, think of Cortana from the Halo video game franchise.
Are we there yet? It seems so, but, do we really have A.I. avatars already? How far along are we? As I write this, I have suddenly just realized, that 2Pac already performed at Coachella as a hologram, many years ago, which speaks to my point of how fast this is advancing, and how uninformed I might be for this conversation.
Though, it also speaks to what this article is about, the impact that interactive A.I. avatars might have on business. Even beyond the scope of business, how interactive A.I. avatars might affect education, entertainment, culture, how we live, and more.
The World of Interactive AI
With the ability for AI to manipulate still images, apply voice and text-to-speech applications, as well generate its own moving imagery, the ability to create AI avatars is more accessible than ever. They are evolving at a rapid pace, and their potential applications are expanding to new and exciting areas. From business and museums to education and entertainment, interactive AI avatars are finding their place in a variety of fields.
Business World
In the business world, interactive AI avatars are being used to provide customer service and support, similar to the robot I just spoke with. By utilizing natural language processing and machine learning, these avatars can converse with customers in a way that feels human-like, providing personalized assistance and support. Companies are finding that interactive AI avatars can help reduce customer wait times, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce costs associated with staffing customer service representatives. They can also work as virtual assistants.
Museums
This is a context that might be a more familiar use of AI avatars, but will only get more interactive with the dawn of intelligent AI. Museums are embracing interactive AI avatars to enhance the visitor experience. These avatars can serve as guides, providing information about exhibits and answering visitors’ questions. They can also provide interactive experiences, such as quizzes and games, that engage visitors and make the museum experience more enjoyable and educational. These avatars can also be used to enhance accessibility for visitors with disabilities, by providing audio descriptions or other accommodations.
Education
In education, interactive AI avatars are being used to provide personalized tutoring and support. These avatars can adapt to the individual learning style and pace of each student, providing tailored instruction and feedback. They can also help with language learning by providing conversation practice and feedback. These avatars can also be used to create more engaging and interactive educational materials, such as virtual simulations or games.
Entertainment
In the entertainment industry, interactive AI avatars are taking on a variety of roles. They can serve as hosts for virtual events, providing a human-like presence for attendees. They can also provide personalized recommendations for movies, TV shows, and music, based on the user’s preferences and viewing history. Additionally, interactive AI avatars are being used in gaming to create more realistic and immersive experiences. AI has long been employed in video game to play beside users, and will only become more intelligent.
So Far So… Good?
Of course these brief examples are only scratching the surface of what AI can do. There are countless industries, especially those that employ customer service in some form, that may benefit from these interactive AI avatars. But as exciting as these developments may be, the wise man once said, “only fools rush in,” and we should take caution with these advancements. Despite the many advantages of interactive AI avatars, there are also some concerns.
Most of all concerning are the privacy and security issues may arise when sensitive information is shared with these avatars. Additionally, there are concerns about the potential impact of these avatars on employment, as they could potentially replace human workers in some fields. Not to mention the unknown psychological impact interactive AI might have, as they become much more human-like. Which also lends itself to AI avatars being maliciously employed.
Overall
Interactive AI avatars are a growing trend with a wide range of potential applications. They are already being used in simple forms, which will only advance, and their use is likely to expand in the coming years. While there are some potential concerns, the benefits of interactive AI avatars are very promising, and they have the potential to revolutionize many industries. Whether that revolution is for the good or bad, entirely depends on how humans implement them.
