Technology is just amazing in the ways that it lets us meet the future – things that had been possible only in the realm of sci-fi now seem possible. Technology that uses Artificial Intelligence right now is both scary and amazing; in ways we couldn’t have imagined just years ago. Now something called Xpression Camera is helping don different avatars in ways we could only have imagined earlier.
Xpression camera is a virtual camera app that “imprints the movements of your face and head onto anyone you want while you chat on Zoom, stream on Twitch, or create a YouTube video.” It claims to help people ‘get dressed’ for any occasion and ‘become anyone’ or assume any avatar.
This is for anyone that has felt lazy about getting out of bed and getting dressed for a virtual workday or Zoom meeting. Xpression camera lets you present to others a formally dressed version of yourself that seems never to have a bad day! You can be yourself, a game or cartoon character, an old painting, Einstein, or Gengis Khan ---- it is the new normal for remote working.
This long dead dude with a hat and an even longer dead Egyptian come together to sing I wanna hold your hand in this video. So what this app does is, it imprints the movements of someone’s face and head into anyone else’s. This is meant to be used for making amusing YouTube videos, online meetings and so on. You could be wearing pajamas with unwashed hair but could appear perfectly groomed in a natty suit for that Zoom meeting.
A bunch of famous artworks including what appears to be Botticelli’s Venus come alive here, singing She Loves You b in the voice of John, Paul, George and Ringo. It can work with video as well as images.
Probably the best rock song ever written is sung but a bunch of really old statues here. Fun! This is instant and no processing time is required. This application is currently available on the iOS platform. It works with PCs and mobile phones as well and doesn’t need sophisticated or upgraded hardware.
The tweeple were amused by the uses of Xpression Camera and feel that it could be very entertaining. However they didn’t think it would be much appreciated at work.
“Or maybe just respect the people you're talking to and get prepared in advance before the stream/meeting,” asked one Twitter user. “Just wear a fu**ing shirt and sit down for the meeting,” suggested another.
Some feel that technology like this is taking us further and further away from reality. They feel it will contribute to a dystopian society, will destroy our sanity and will be misused by those in power. It is disturbing how peddlers of fake news, misinformation and propaganda have been using technology to further their agendas. It is not an unreasonable apprehension – if I can convincingly make Einstein speak in my mother tongue Gujarati, that takes us one more step away from being able to differentiate real from counterfeit; truth from falsehood.
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