AI/ML Workshop
I attended the AI/ML Workshop on September 24, hosted by Mei Wang. The session explored the rise of hyper-realistic AI agents and how these avatars are increasingly being used across industries like marketing, education, and customer service. It began with a live demo featuring an AI-generated avatar that was nearly indistinguishable from a real person, followed by a hands-on activity using HeyGen, where we created our own digital agents by customizing them visually, as well as their speaking patterns. Mei also shared research findings, including a $10,000 Meta experiment involving 1.8 million users, which highlighted the impact of realism on audience engagement. One part that stood out to me was the discussion on virtual influencers, a market expected to grow from $6 billion to $46 billion by 2030, and how over half of Instagram users already follow at least one. We also examined legal and ethical issues, such as the need for transparency when AI-generated content is used. Attending this workshop helped me understand not just the technology behind AI avatars but also their broader social and business implications, inspiring me to think critically about how these tools can be used responsibly in the future.