Is there life after death with AI? Google considers charging for AI-based searches; a new wave of AI gadgets; a researcher takes on election deepfakes; applying AI to real-world problems

US and UK partner on AI safety; OpenAI previews Voice Engine model for speech synthesis; how patents are evolving in the age of AI; Big Tech to study impact of AI on tech jobs

Apr 05, 2024

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Ever since Kodak introduced the first camera for amateur photographers in 1888, people have preserved precious memories by carefully curating photo albums—initially as physical books and more recently as digital collections stored in the cloud with services such as Google Photos, Dropbox or Flickr. But thanks to rapid advancements in generative AI, the century-old concept of a photo album is about to get a radical upgrade.

Interactive synthetic media albums will soon allow us to re-experience treasured moments with uncanny realism. Instead of looking at flat images, we will be able to hear and watch photorealistic avatars of our loved ones recount specific stories and memories in their own voice and likeness.

We are already seeing glimpses of how this will work today: just over a month ago, Alibaba demonstrated a new AI video generator called EMO (short for Emote Portrait Alive) that turns a single still image and a vocal track into an animated avatar video with facial expressions and poses. The system, described in a research paper published on arXiv, represents a major advance in the audio-driven video generation of talking heads, an area that has challenged AI researchers for years - you can see a quick demonstration of EMO animating Audrey Hepburn’s avatar using a cover of Ed Sheeran below.

And last week, OpenAI previewed Voice Engine, a model for generating realistic speech using only a 15-second sample of someone’s voice, while Resemble AI launched a tool that makes AI voice clones in a minute.

Taken together, these audio and video generative technologies will need just a few photos, video clips and audio recordings to create dynamic 3D avatars that capture a person's appearance, mannerisms, voice, and personality. Add to that a large language model that can analyze the same person’s emails or social media posts to replicate their writing style and vocabulary, and a whole new form of personal storytelling will emerge, where authentic narratives can be generated from simple prompts.

Sophina is a chatbot using the Claude LLM that’s been trained to produce content in the style of journalist and creator Sophia Smith Galer’s social media posts

Imagine an AI-powered album where you can watch and listen to your late grandmother describe her childhood growing up on a farm, or have your great-grandfather’s avatar recounting his experiences of World War II—all rendered with the striking realism that regular accounts from that era can’t provide. Instead of static photos lacking context, these interactive vignettes will blend audio and visuals to recreate long-lasting sensory memories in vivid detail or educate us about historical events. AI avatars could even be programmed to tell thoughtful life lessons or share family wisdom down through future generations.

The opportunities for this technology also go beyond documenting family histories and personal narratives. We’re already seeing celebrities who passed away being brought back to life with generative AI. For example, the estate of the late television personality Walter Mercado has launched Cameo and TikTok accounts where his AI avatar (seen below) continues to share messages for his loyal fans using his famous catchphrase. These interactive experiences can also bridge the gap with younger generations and make cultural phenomenons of the past still relevant in the future.

Of course, the rise of AI-powered interactive photo albums raises profound ethical questions around consent, privacy, and the potential for misleading deepfakes or inaccurate storytelling. But the technology's ability to breath new life into memories and stories is undeniably powerful.

My two year old son never got to meet my grandfather and only saw my grandmother briefly before she passed away. Yet, they were the most important people in my childhood as they raised me while my parents worked double shifts at the local factory to make ends meet. I’d like to believe that one day in the near future I’ll have more than just a static collection of images to show him how amazing his grandparents were.

And now, here are this week’s news:

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Our top news picks for the week - your essential reading from the world of AI

The Guardian: Chinese mourners turn to AI to remember and ‘revive’ loved ones
WSJ: The Chess Master Trying to Propel Google’s AI Push
Bloomberg: OpenAI Previews New Audio Tool That Can Read Text, Mimic Voices
WSJ: For Data-Guzzling AI Companies, the Internet Is Too Small
FT: The loneliness cure
Bloomberg: YouTube Says OpenAI Training Sora With Its Videos Would Break Rules
BBC: AI Safety: UK and US sign landmark agreement
FT: Google considers charging for AI-powered search in big change to business model
Washington Post: Big Tech usually dismisses fears that AI kills jobs. Now it’s studying them.
Axios: How Silicon Valley patents are evolving in the era of AI
The Verge: Welcome to the AI gadget era
Semafor: A guide to applying AI to real-world problems
New York Times: An A.I. Researcher Takes On Election Deepfakes
WSJ: How the Ad Industry Is Making AI Images Look Less Like AI
The Guardian: Wearable AI: will it put our smartphones out of fashion?

⚙️Computer does

AI in the wild: how artificial intelligence is used across industry, from the internet, social media, and retail to transportation, healthcare, banking, and more

New York Times: A.I. Is Spying on the Food We Throw Away
Bloomberg: US, EU to Use AI to Seek Alternate Chemicals for Making Chips
BBC: Google using AI to come up with search answers in UK trial
Business Insider: A new AI-powered tool could revolutionize how lawmakers are held accountable for insider trading
The Verge: The OnePlus 12 plus one AI feature
Washington Post: In a first, FDA authorizes AI-driven test to predict sepsis in hospitals
BBC: How AI is being used to prevent illegal fishing
The Verge: Microsoft 365’s Copilot gets a GPT-4 Turbo upgrade and improved image generation
Fortune: Legacy TV enlists AI to figure out a show’s emotional vibe and add commercials that fit the mood
Business Insider: How Gen AI is changing the way we work
The Telegraph: AI is better at creating tourist slogans than humans – can you tell the difference?
Time: Side Hustle or Scam? What to Know About Data Annotation Work
The Verge: Now there’s an AI gas station with robot fry cooks
Fortune: ‘Gone are the days of manually searching and scrolling through a list of applicants’: Indeed doubles down on AI to save hundreds of hours on recruiting
BBC: Devon university develops AI to detect Asian hornets
Business Insider: AI is helping fragrance companies unlock the sensational possibilities of smell
TechCrunch: Brave is launching its AI assistant on iPhone and iPad
The Guardian: DrugGPT: new AI tool could help doctors prescribe medicine in England
CNBC: Part scary, part exciting: How artists are using AI in their work
Wired: Here’s Proof the AI Boom Is Real: More People Are Tapping ChatGPT at Work

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Interesting trends and developments from various AI fields, companies and people

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