The UK startup, valued at $20 billion (£1.6 billion), is utilizing artificial intelligence to create lifelike avatars. They have recently partnered with Shutterstock, a stock footage company, to enhance their technology.
Synthesia is paying Shutterstock undisclosed amounts to access their video library for training their AI models. By incorporating these clips into their models, Synthesia aims to improve the realism, vocal tones, and body language of their avatars.
In a statement, Synthesia expressed their goal of enhancing the realism and expressiveness of AI-generated avatars through this partnership with Shutterstock. They aim to bring these avatars closer to human-like performance standards.
The collaboration has sparked discussions around the use of copyrighted material by AI companies without proper permission. The UK government’s proposal to relax copyright laws has faced criticism from creative industry experts.
Synthesia creates digital avatars using human actors, which are then utilized by various companies including clients like Lloyd’s Bank and British Gas. Their technology is also employed by organizations like the NHS, the European Commission, and the United Nations for different purposes.
Recently, Synthesia announced that they would provide stock options to the actors featured in their popular avatars. The company licenses the actors’ portraits for three years and compensates them for filming work.
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Synthesia does not allow the use of stock avatars for political or news-related purposes. Instead, they utilize Shutterstock footage to enhance their models’ understanding of body language and workplace settings. This helps in creating more realistic scenarios for the avatars.
Established in 2017 by two Danish entrepreneurs and two academics, Synthesia, based in London, reached a valuation of $2.1 billion this year through a funding round that raised $180 million.
Beeban Kidron, a vocal critic of the government’s copyright policies, highlighted the significance of the Shutterstock agreement as an indication of the government’s flawed stance on copyright issues.
The government argues that current copyright regulations need to evolve to support the full potential of AI and technology in the creative industry, media, and technology sectors.
Source: www.theguardian.com
