The Rise of Human-Like Avatars and AI Assistants: Exploring the Psychological and Technological Advancements.

By now most of you have already interacted with an avatar on one platform, or you have created one for your WhatsApp DP.  

In fact, over recent years, the rise of human-like avatars and AI-powered digital assistants has been nothing short of a technological revolution: from virtual reality experiences to customer service interactions. These anthropomorphic representations are capturing the imagination of users and businesses alike.

Research shows that One of the primary reasons people love interacting with avatars that resemble humans is the phenomenon of anthropomorphism. This is the tendency to attribute human-like qualities to non-human entities, which can create a sense of connection and familiarity. When avatars exhibit human-like traits, users are more likely to project their emotions and social responses onto these avatars, leading to deeper emotional engagements. It is true- both of us know how draining it can be talking to some faceless machine on the other end of the customer helpline- even don’t want to talk about the voice the traditional bots have!

Additionally, human-like avatars can enhance the feeling of social presence in digital environments. Users often feel more connected and engaged when interacting with avatars that closely resemble real people. This connection is amplified in contexts such as virtual reality, where the realism of avatars can significantly impact user enjoyment and immersion. Studies indicate that avatars with a high degree of human resemblance can lead to more enjoyable interactions, provided they have realistic animations and expressions.

A bank in Japan seems to have grabbed this and made the most of it. The Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has confirmed that it has begun experimenting with AI-powered customer service avatars in its corporate call center operations.

The Japanese banking and financial services organization has leveraged tech from AVITA to launch AVACOM, a digital customer service tool that converts human appearances into avatars.

Initially reported by Tokyo FinTech, the test period will see the solution explicitly deployed within the corporate customer department, where it will be used for telephone-based explanations of products and services.

For SMBC, the trial’s goals are twofold: to ascertain whether the use of digital avatars will increase the level of CX and to uncover whether it will improve agents’ working conditions.

In what seems to be the in thing right now, many call centers are now adopting this new way of customer service. For example, Character.AI has released an AI-powered feature that allows users to have seamless two-way voice conversations with digital avatars in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. This feature goes beyond text-based interactions and enables more natural, human-like conversations.

Also, Service Now, in collaboration with NVIDIA, has unveiled its own GenAI-powered digital customer service avatars that use speech, large language models (LLM), and animation to provide more engaging and personal interactions. These avatars are designed to guide employees through work policies and software features, showcasing their versatility beyond customer service.

Now, as the idea of AI that looks just like us continues to capture our imagination, it’s fun to ponder what that might be like. Would you want your AI assistant to be a spitting image of Brad Pitt? Or maybe you’d prefer an R2-D2-style robot with a bit more sass. The possibilities are endless!

Of course, there are plenty of serious questions to consider about the ethics and implications of such advanced AI. But let’s not get bogged down in that for now. Instead, I encourage you to let your creativity run wild. What would your dream humanoid AI companion be like? Would they be your new best friend? Your concierge? Your wise mentor? The choices are yours!

So go ahead, indulge your fantasies a little. How do you envision AI that is truly human-like attending to your needs and enriching your life? Share your wildest ideas – who knows, maybe someday they’ll come to life (in a manner of speaking, that is). The future is full of exciting possibilities when it comes to humanoid AI, so have a little fun imagining what it could be!