Recently, the online sales industry has undergone a revolutionary change! A startup named Rep.ai has just announced the completion of a $7.5 million funding round, aiming to launch a brand new AI digital clone technology. This technology will help businesses create virtual sales representatives capable of conducting real-time video and audio conversations, truly providing 24/7 services and transforming our traditional shopping experience. Rep.ai was formerly known as ServiceBell, and they have rebranded to focus on developing these lifelike AI clones.

At the opening ceremony of the 2024 Yunqi Conference, Giant Network made its debut and showcased its latest achievements in the "Game + AI" field. The company launched two self-developed large model applications—GiantGPT and BaiLing-TTS—while also demonstrating new technologies such as AI Digital Humans and the AI painting platform Giant Mimicry.

In the field of 3D digital humans, research teams from Nanjing University, Fudan University, and Huawei Noah's Ark Lab have proposed innovative solutions to address the issues of multi-view consistency and insufficient emotional expressiveness. They developed the EmoTalk3D dataset, which includes calibrated multi-view videos, emotion annotations, and frame-by-frame 3D geometric information. By constructing a mapping framework from 'speech to geometry to appearance', the research team introduced a new method that enables the synthesis of 3D talking avatars with controllable emotions, significantly enhancing lip synchronization and rendering quality.

Starting from June 20, Baidu Intelligent Cloud's Xiling Digital Human Platform will undergo a major innovative upgrade. This upgrade not only enables the efficient and cost-effective generation of exquisite 2D/3D digital humans but also achieves seamless integration across multiple scenarios such as live streaming, short videos, and dialogue, significantly enhancing user experience. Whether it's for creating corporate IP, designing cultural tourism IP, or developing entertainment IP, the Xiling platform provides one-stop intelligent, convenient, and user-friendly digital human services.

ByteDance is secretly developing multiple AI products, including multimodal digital humans. ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming is dedicating all his time to AI. The company's video editing app, Jianying, formed a closed team months ago to develop new AI products. ByteDance has already launched three AI conversational products. The AI chatbot development platform Coze, released last year, has gone live domestically. ByteDance also introduced the text-to-image open model SDXL-Lightning.

ByteDance is secretly developing multiple AI products including multimodal digital human products, AI-generated images, and AI-generated video, with the Jianying team clandestinely working on AI products.

Baidu Online Network Technology Co., Ltd. has announced a patent application for 'Methods and Devices for Generating Digital Humans'. This patent pertains to the field of artificial intelligence technology, including computer vision, natural language processing, and deep learning. Through this patent, digital humans can possess diverse personalities, allowing them to express consciousness and emotions like humans. Digital humans can naturally communicate and interact with humans, making the experience more authentic and vivid. This technology is expected to be applied in the metaverse and other digital human scenarios, providing users with a better experience.

In a media interview, Zuckerberg predicted that the era of AI-powered digital humans interacting with fans could become a reality next year. He believes that fans are eager to interact with digital figures, but celebrities may worry about brand image being compromised. Zuckerberg mentioned that AI could serve as an assistant to celebrities, although technological limitations still exist. During the Meta Connect event, he showcased 28 AI characters, highlighting that issues of brand safety and technical challenges need to be addressed. Zuckerberg's outlook indicates that, after overcoming these challenges, the AI celebrity era could dawn next year.

Delphi is an artificial intelligence startup dedicated to creating personalized digital chatbots to enhance interaction between celebrities, influencers, and their fans. The company shapes celebrities and influencers using various data sources to enable them to interact with a larger audience. Delphi has raised $2.7 million in funding and plans to utilize open-source models, clearly incorporating OpenAI technology. Over 100 chatbot creators and thousands of users are participating in private testing. Delphi's vision is to provide a wider range of interaction for celebrities and influencers through AI technology.

The application of AI in the e-commerce sector is further expanding. AI tools enhance the shopping experience and efficiency. Digital humans live streaming has become a new model in e-commerce. AI brings personalized recommendations and innovative marketing methods. The future of e-commerce will provide a shopping experience where desires can be fulfilled instantly.