Virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri are now the norm. Star Labs, a tech company backed by Samsung, envisions a future where a computationally created virtual being that looks and behaves like a real human will supersede.
Revealed at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Star Labs’ NEON is an artificial human described not as an AI assistant nor an interface to the Internet but simply a friend with a name. “Frank, Natasha, Hana. Not ‘Hey NEON”, said Star Labs.
At Star Labs’ booth, multiple virtual beings were displayed on TVs for the attendees to observe. Star Labs says that its virtual beings will eventually be able to “connect and learn more about us, gain new skills, and evolve.” Still in its infancy, NEON requires substantial improvements.
With only one partially functioning NEON at the booth, CNN when testing the technology described the virtual human as being “wonky and plagued with delays”.
“Her emotions and expressions were far less believable in real time and were controlled by the company’s CEO, Pranav Mistry, via an app nearby,” said CNN. “Onlookers were able to ask questions, but most often, answers missed the mark. For example, when asked what her favourite gadget at CES was, she responded: ‘Las Vegas’.”
