AI-Generated Characters: Revolutionizing Personalized Learning and Well-being

AI-generated characters are digital representations of people created by machine learning algorithms, designed to look, sound, and behave realistically. Recent advancements in generative AI have enabled the creation of hyper-realistic synthetic media, including images, audio, and video. This technology offers novel opportunities for creating engaging interactions with digital portrayals of individuals, from fictional characters to historical figures. The article defines two sub-types of AI-generated characters: users becoming AI-generated characters through face swaps, and users interacting with AI-generated characters controlled by humans or intelligent systems.

AI-generated characters have potential to enhance learning experiences in various ways: 1. Virtual instructors: AI characters can serve as engaging teachers, potentially increasing student motivation and attention. 2. Student embodiment: Students can embody historical or scientific figures to gain new perspectives and enhance problem-solving skills. 3. Peer learning: AI characters can act as supportive peers in learning environments, providing motivation and feedback. These applications can create immersive learning experiences, bringing historical figures to life, enabling role-playing scenarios, and providing personalized learning support.

AI-generated characters show promise in supporting various aspects of health and well-being: 1. Digital health counseling: AI characters can augment mental health support, especially in resource-constrained environments. 2. Exposure therapy: AI-generated versions of oneself or others can be used in therapeutic contexts. 3. Living memories: AI characters can serve as a form of 'technological heirloom,' preserving memories of deceased loved ones. 4. Assistive technologies: AI-generated faces and voices can help individuals with facial deformities or speech impairments to communicate more effectively.

The article presents a unified pipeline for creating AI-generated characters, combining state-of-the-art models for converting text to audio, audio to video, and video to video. The pipeline includes options for video-to-video generation, voice-to-video synthesis, and text-to-video creation. To ensure ethical use, the pipeline incorporates traceability methods, including visual watermarking and machine-detectable adversarial noise.

While AI-generated characters offer exciting possibilities, they also raise important ethical concerns: 1. Misportrayal of characters or events, potentially spreading misinformation. 2. Promoting harmful behavior, especially if recognizable characters are misused. 3. Causing dependence from overuse, potentially impacting real-world social relationships. 4. Supplanting human relationships in education and therapy contexts. 5. Ethical complexities surrounding post-mortem AI-generated characters. The article stresses the importance of using AI characters to augment rather than replace human interactions and the need for careful consideration of these ethical issues.

The use of AI-generated characters raises several legal concerns: 1. Violation of individual rights to privacy and publicity, especially in cases of non-consensual use. 2. Determining liability for harm caused by AI-generated characters, including privacy violations, defamation, or misinformation. 3. The need for clear labeling and traceability of AI-generated content to mitigate liability issues. The article highlights the complexity of these legal considerations and the need for new regulatory mechanisms to address the challenges posed by AI-generated characters.

The article concludes by envisioning a future where AI-generated characters become ubiquitous in daily life, offering opportunities in education, well-being, entertainment, and creativity. However, it emphasizes the need for careful consideration of the ethical, legal, and societal implications of this technology. The authors call for cooperation between governments, industries, researchers, and academic institutions to develop new regulatory mechanisms and safeguards. They predict that the integration of AI-generated characters into society will require us to rethink fundamental concepts of human identity, its formation, safeguarding, and role in society.