From Voice to Vision: Charting the Journey from ChatGPT Voicebot to Lifelike AI Videobot
In early 2020, the tech landscape was buzzing as Samsung unveiled Neon, a pioneering venture into the realm of 'Artificial Humans'. Neon, a videobot with a life-like human appearance and the ability to emulate human expressions like smiling, nodding, and laughing, promised a new era of human-machine interaction. Armed with conversational prowess in multiple languages, Neon was touted as a potential tutor across diverse subjects and professions. Samsung's vision? For one, to position Neon as a personalized tutor for students.
Despite the initial momentum, Neon wasn’t integrated into Samsung Galaxy devices as expected and has not lived up to its hype. However, hyper realistic virtual human tutors are coming. AI is already capable of digitally constructing faces and bodies in ways that make them difficult to distinguish from real images or video content. Now with the introduction of natural voice conversation capabilities in ChatGPT (and Bing) groundwork is being laid for the next manifestation of AI-driven personalized education.
The new version of ChatGPT will enable users to talk with the assistant on a phone or tablet by using their voice as input. This isn't merely a tech upgrade; it's a significant shift for the educational sector. Picture a learner navigating the complexities of algebra or the intricacies of world history. Instead of relying on textbooks or instructional videos, they now have the option to engage in a fluid and exploratory dialogue with an AI guide.
The AI-driven guide, equipped with ChatGPT's voice feature, can address questions, offer detailed explanations, and even modify its instructional methods based on the learner's feedback. A ChatGPT tutor can assist students in deciphering intricate concepts, address their queries, and even initiate in-depth discussions on a range of subjects.
ChatGPT's transformation from chatbot to voicebot is a precursor to what's on the horizon. The progression from a voicebot tutor like ChatGPT to a visually compelling videobot tutor like Neon is as a natural evolution in AI-driven personalized learning. The voice might be a starting point, but the visual and interactive capabilities of AI are all being developed. It’s not hard to imagine a world where AI voice-driven interactions evolve into visual interactions with AI videobots like Neon.
Just a few weeks ago, the MIT Media lab released a study that investigated the impact of learning from an AI-generated virtual instructor. (In the study, MIT used historical, living, and fictional characters, from Einstein and Picasso to Elon Musk and Harry Potter.) The results indicated that these interactions with virtual humans could enhance a student's enthusiasm for learning and concluded that virtual teachers could create “compelling learning experiences”.
There are intriguing possibilities. Imagine life-like and sophisticated AI tutors, not only capable of speech but also of mirroring human emotions, bringing to life historical figures, eminent scientists, or beloved fictional characters. This would provide students with a deeply immersive journey through history, science, literature, and other subjects.
While generative AI tutors are still in their formative stages, the potential they offer is breathtaking. The aspiration of individualized learning, where instruction is molded to cater to individual requirements, is gradually becoming achievable.
