AI digital life technology sparks controversy Zhang Zewei: Talent using technology is the key

Cover News Trainee Reporter Wang Yili

Some time ago, Bao Xiaobai, who had disappeared in the music circle for a long time, became a hot search figure with "AI resurrection of daughters", and Sun Ge from Liaoning used AI face swapping software to replace his deceased father's face with his own face, and recorded a video of his "father" reporting safety to comfort his grandmother...... For a while, all kinds of cases made many netizens shout: "The dialogue between Tu Hengyu played by Andy Lau and his daughter's digital life in "The Wandering Earth 2" seems to have become a reality. ”

Zhang Zewei According to the interviewee

Zhang Zewei, a post-90s entrepreneurial youth engaged in the artificial intelligence industry, has begun to customize "AI digital humans" for ordinary people since 2022. In a previous interview with Cover News, Zhang Zewei admitted that due to the hot demand, he had completed 653 orders in one year, some of which asked him to be an idol doppelganger, and some asked him to "resurrect" the deceased child.

But at the same time, there are concerns about ethics and morality. Recently, the mother of the late well-known singer Coco Li entrusted a lawyer to issue a statement, saying that the online "AI resurrection Coco Li" series of short videos was suspected of infringement, and some Internet users took the opportunity to sell AI services, maliciously re-evaluate and promote personal business without the consent of Ms. Coco Li's close relatives, and illegally made profits in the name of warmth, causing secondary harm to the relatives of the parties, and asked to be taken off the shelves.

Coco Li's mother commissioned a statement issued by the law firm according to the Internet

Will digital immortality destroy people's identity? How to deal with the use of face-swapping technology by people with intentions? With these questions, the cover news reporter contacted Zhang Zewei again, he told reporters that because the Qingming Festival is approaching, his order volume has indeed increased significantly, "There is nothing wrong with the technology itself, the key is the people who use it." ”

01丨For AI technology, laws and platforms are being regulated

Cover News: What are the main technologies used to make AI digital humans, and what are the steps?

Zhang Zewei: At present, language processing technology, sound cloning technology, deep learning technology and so on will be used. We first need to collect photos, videos, voices, make a model of the face, and then enter the basic information of the person, the more effective data entered, the more realistic it is.

Due to technical limitations, in the scenario of real emotional needs, if you use pure intelligence to drive a digital human, you will not be able to interact like a real person. So most of our orders still use the AI face swapping method. In fact, AI face swapping is not new, it can only be replaced with static in the past, but now it can be replaced with a dynamic form, no matter what expressions and actions you do, it will be more realistic.

Cover News: Are there any screening methods for some of the user's intentions as a production platform?

Zhang Zewei: First of all, it must come from the needs of users, which is a precondition. We will bind it according to the previous communication authorization, and then in the contract agreement, it will be clearly stated that this part cannot be used in any way that violates laws and regulations.

In addition, we will also ask the client to submit proof of relationship with the producer. If the person passes away, we need to obtain authorization from the person's immediate family.

Cover News: Some people think that this AI "resurrection" of relatives has a conflict with ethics and morality, what do you think of it?

Zhang Zewei: In fact, this is the opinion of the benevolent, and the wise see the wise. Because the emergence of a new technology itself will inevitably bring some positive or negative views, but we also hope that everyone will look at AI from a social perspective.

In fact, in the field of AI, we are still on a relatively flat starting line compared with foreign countries, but foreign countries are actually constantly suppressing AI. Therefore, we hope that in the area of digital immortality, everyone should be more inclusive, so that we can surpass other countries on this road.

Cover News: Now that some fans are claiming to use AI to resurrect some artists who have passed away, what do you think of such incidents?

Zhang Zewei: First of all, this is a very immoral thing. Because if you do this without the authorization of other people's families, it is actually a secondary harm to their families, and this harm may be great. Legally speaking, the mainland already has a strict attribution and definition of portrait rights, so this kind of behavior is actually a violation of laws and regulations.

02 Digital life, a continuation of spiritual culture

Cover News: In addition to the business aspect, why did you want to set up such an AI digital life team in the first place?

Zhang Zewei: I think we can help more families and more people in this way. Because digital immortality itself is a combination of traditional Chinese culture, including Confucianism and filial piety, it can be combined with the most advanced AI technology, which is more in line with our Chinese values, and we can also carry forward our concepts and traditional culture through this track in the future.

Cover News: Have you heard anything that impressed you in your conversations with customers?

Zhang Zewei: In addition to being a public figure, what impressed me the most was the images of veterans of the Anti-Japanese War and revolutionary martyrs. In fact, when their families found us, they not only wanted to remember and remember their loved ones, but also hoped that through us, the spirit of the Anti-Japanese War would be passed on from generation to generation in the form of this digital life, so as to establish a correct value for more young people.

Cover News: In addition to AI "resurrecting" people, have you ever received an order for a pet, and will it be more difficult?

Zhang Zewei: I also have it here, but not much at present, in fact, the technology has been fully reached. AI "resurrection" pets have always been in demand, and the current difficulty lies in how to make users feel that the virtual pet he raised is the pet he used to raise.

We use technology to serve human emotions, but for pets, their appearance and voice are not very different. How to understand the thoughts of pets, in fact, still needs to be verified by the market, that is, how to make virtual pets can also carry human remembrance and emotional problems about it.