Nvidia-backed startup Synthesia unveils AI avatars that can convey human emotions [Video]

Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence firm Synthesia on Thursday unveiled a new wave of AI-generated digital avatars that can convey human emotions using a user’s text inputs.

The company said its “Expressive Avatars” can blur the lines between the virtual world and real characters. It aims to eliminate cameras, microphones, actors, lengthy edits and other costs from the professional video production process. Synthesia has a studio in London, where actors read scripts in front of a green screen to train the system.

In one demonstration, the company showed three lines of text being inserted into its platform — “I am happy. I am sad. I am frustrated” — after which the AI-generated actor in the video responded by reading the text in the tone of each corresponding emotion.

The company’s technology is used by more than 55,000 businesses, including half of the Fortune 100, to make digital avatars for corporate presentations and …