Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/11/zoom_clips_avatar_scripted_message/
Source: The Register
Title: Why send a message when you can get your Zoom digital video clone to read the script?
Feedly Summary: We’re sure colleagues will find your lookalike, soundalike avatar’s missive very warm and human
Zoom Video Communications intends to offer office workers the ability to communicate with colleagues using an AI lookalike that speaks from a script using a lip-synced, cloned voice.…
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: Zoom Video Communications is introducing an AI-driven feature enabling office workers to create video clips featuring digital avatars that mimic their appearance and voice. This innovation raises concerns regarding the potential for deepfakes and the ethical implications of AI-generated content, but Zoom emphasizes its safeguards to prevent misuse.
Detailed Description:
Zoom Video Communications has unveiled a new feature aimed at enhancing efficiency in workplace communications by leveraging AI technology. The significant points include:
– **AI Avatar Functionality**:
– The new tool allows users to create video clips that feature a photorealistic digital avatar that mimics their appearance and voice, using a text script as input.
– Users will be able to generate these videos without needing retakes, streamlining the production of training materials or demos.
– **Integration with Zoom Workplace**:
– This feature is part of the Zoom AI Companion 2.0, which simplifies user interactions by allowing natural language commands for various tasks within the Zoom platform.
– Users can schedule meetings, summarize discussions, and communicate through video clips without traditional, time-consuming methods.
– **Commercialization Strategy**:
– The AI Companion will be available for paid customers of the Zoom Workplace suite, with a potential add-on for more extensive app integration planned for 2025.
– This add-on will broaden the available applications, including productivity tools like Atlassian and Workday.
– **Ethical Concerns and Regulation**:
– The potential for misuse through deepfake technology has prompted discussions around the ethical implications surrounding AI-generated content.
– Legal challenges, such as California’s recent blocking of a law aiming to prohibit deceptive deepfakes, highlight the complexity of regulating AI technologies amid free speech considerations.
– Zoom claims to incorporate protective measures, such as watermarking and stringent policies, to mitigate the risks associated with misuse and to maintain content integrity.
– **Comparative Approaches**:
– Other tech companies, such as Microsoft, are exploring similar capabilities, raising industry-wide concerns about the effects of these advancements in AI and potential evocation of deepfake functionality.
In summary, this development reflects the growing trend of integrating AI into workplace tools, with significant implications for productivity, ethics, and regulatory compliance. Security and compliance professionals should remain vigilant about how such features can be used or misused, ensuring that organizations can harness these technologies responsibly.