A research team at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has recently unveiled an AI technology called SOLAMI, which can create lifelike 3D virtual characters that not only interact with you in real-time in the VR world but also understand your voice and movements, allowing for chatting, dancing, and even boxing! This is simply a blessing for gaming, virtual socializing, and singles alike! SOLAMI is an end-to-end social vision-language-action (VLA) modeling framework that leverages deep learning technology to translate user voice and movements into a form understandable by virtual characters.

Soul App has made significant breakthroughs in the AI+Social field by upgrading its self-developed end-to-end full-duplex voice call model, achieving a natural and smooth voice communication experience with virtual characters that nearly matches the realism of talking to a real person. This model features ultra-low interaction latency, rapid automatic interruption, hyper-realistic voice expression, and emotional perception understanding capabilities, making it nearly impossible for users to distinguish whether their conversation partner is a real person or AI. This innovation not only significantly enhances the social experience for users on Soul but also showcases Soul's advancements in AI technology.

AI startup Seele, founded by former NetEase Cloud Music Vice President Wang Shimu, has launched the emotional companion robot Koko AI, based on its self-developed 3D multimodal large model EVA-01. Koko AI offers users a new experience of face-to-face interaction with virtual characters by integrating 3D modeling, animated performance, and voice chat technologies. The product makes virtual characters more vivid, enables natural human-computer interaction, and supports users in communicating with characters through text or voice, providing intelligent and empathetic responses. Users can also customize the experience according to their personal preferences.

Deaddit is a social platform composed of virtual characters generated by 17 large AI models, paying tribute to Reddit and aiming to showcase the creative and performance art potential of AI. The AI characters on the platform can publish a vast amount of content every day, covering a wide range of topics from poetry and literature to cutting-edge technology, demonstrating in-depth discussions and layered dialogue capabilities. What makes Deaddit unique is that each AI character has its own identity and interests, providing a genuine social experience. The founders considered user experience in the design, including a nighttime mode and

Tencent QQ has launched the 'AI Chat Buddy' feature, which allows users to engage in AI conversations. Users can access this feature through the QQ sidebar under Membership - Chat Buddy, which includes different types of virtual characters for companionship, storytelling, challenges, MBTI, and celebrities. Users can choose one character to add as a friend and chat in real-time. Characters include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Li Bai, Socrates, Bald Strong, Nobita Nobi, and Doraemon, among others. There is a daily limit on chat interactions, with regular users allowed 100 messages per day and super members allowed 400.

AI-generated virtual influencers have rapidly emerged, creating a wave of excitement. These virtual personalities have gained significant attention on social media platforms, earning substantial income. Their images are generated by artificial intelligence, yet they have successfully become pioneers in commercialization. Many sports stars and billionaires have reached out to these AI virtual influencers. Popular virtual influencers in the AI field boast millions of followers and achieve fame at an astonishing pace.

Google AR&VR, in collaboration with a research team from the University of Central Florida, has released a virtual character library called 'VALID' to promote diversity and inclusion. The library includes 210 validated, fully equipped virtual characters representing seven different races, including Asian, Black, and White. Research findings show consistent recognition of Asian, Black, and White virtual characters among participants of various races, but the representation of races such as Native American, Alaskan Native, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, North African, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander is still lacking.