ARTIFICIAL intelligence cloning is poised to become the next big thing in the technology sector – and maybe even our lives.
Meta recently unveiled its AI-powered chatbots and many of them feature likenesses of celebrities – or celeb AI clones.
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This is thanks to its Llama 2 technology, which can generate AI “characters” or “animations” based on real people.
Another company called Delphi lets users create virtual clones of themselves or anyone else.
To generate an AI clone via Delphi, all users need to do is upload some form of identification and as many as thousands of files, including emails, chat transcripts, and even YouTube videos.
It’s apparent that this technology is quickly taking over the industry and this is only the beginning, experts say.
Michael Puscar, Co-founder of AI firm NPCx, which is developing its own AI cloning technology for the gaming sector, explains the phenomenon further.
“Our aim is to allow video game players to clone themselves into video games, acting on their behalf in the game when they’re unavailable to play,” he told The U.S. Sun in an email.
“You can imagine the following situation: you and I are set to play Call of Duty tonight but at the last minute, your partner unknowingly made a dinner reservation. Now I’m stuck, or am I? I’m not if I can play with or against your clone,” Puscar said.
NPCx’s product is called BehaviorX, and it has not yet been released to the public, he said, but it could be central to the development of the metaverse.
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The term metaverse was popularized by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg and describes a virtual world that combines social media, cryptocurrency, augmented reality, and gaming.
“Our clones need to exist in not just a video game environment but in the Metaverse as well,” Puscar said.
“In both cases, the goal is such that when you interact with these clones they are in every way indistinguishable from the person from whom they were cloned.”
HOW DOES IT WORK?
To create the clones, NPCx asks players to play the game and observe them and their environment in great detail.
“We specifically ask them to take certain actions in the game, not unlike how actors are asked to take specific actions on a motion capture stage,” Puscar said.
“This gives us what we need to train our models and create the clone.”
Puscar added that by generating characters based on real-world people, the company can also create non-player characters (NPCs) with deep personalities, who act and react in realistic ways.
When asked what the appeal of AI clones is in gaming, Puscar had a simple answer.
“For gamers, playing alongside or against AI clones of real-world players or celebrities adds an element of realism and excitement to the gaming experience,” he said.
“It’s about creating a more engaging, interactive, and personalized form of entertainment that resonates with the user’s interests and preferences.”
Beyond gaming and chatbots, Puscar anticipates seeing AI cloning technology employed in a variety of applications.
“This could include virtual training environments, interactive educational tools, personalized digital assistants, and more,” he said.
“The entertainment industry, in particular, stands to benefit significantly, with possibilities ranging from personalized movie experiences to virtual concerts featuring digital clones of artists.
Still, while this all sounds like good fun, the ethics around digital clones are “perilous,” Puscar explained.
“Once you’ve trained your clone, your likeness is acting in ways out of your control. In theory, if the algorithms are working properly, it is acting in ways that you would act,” he said.
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“But we cannot control the counterparty, and you can imagine situations where someone nefarious decides to simulate sexual acts with a clone, uses profane language, or otherwise attempts to put them into compromising situations.”
Therefore, it is imperative to make sure that clones are created and used ethically, he said.
