Is AI about to take over the world?

Chris Umé began his career designing special effects for VTM and Q-Music. But that career took a surprising turn when he wondered if it would be possible to win a talent contest with AI. He decided to answer that question by signing up for America’s Got Talent. Long story short: the answer is ‘no’. “It's not technology that makes the difference, it’s human creativity.” Chris ended up in fourth place!

Photorealistic images

What Chris Umé’s team demonstrated during America’s Got Talent – bringing Elvis back to life, among other things – is now being followed up in his company Metaphysic.ai. “With AI, we create photorealistic images: these are AI images that look real,” says Chris Umé. There is already a great deal of interest in the film industry. So far, with make-up and computer animation, it is often been a matter of ‘not quite there yet’. “But now we've unleashed a revolution,” laughs Chris. A new film with Tom Hanks is already using the technology.

Think of the potential: someone from an African-language community who can attend lectures remotely, without a physical barrier, without a language barrier.

Chris Umé

Completely new experience

And it does not have to stop there, as far as Metaphysic.ai is concerned. “Imagine that you can meet up with your parents or grandparents remotely and that meeting feels real, even if you are not physically together.” And what if you store those images in the cloud, so that future generations can also meet people – even when they might already be dead. Chris takes the idea even further. “Think of a video conference where everyone speaks their own language.”

AI translates everything into the language you speak, with the voice of the person in question and with customized mouth movements. It is an idea that would remove the classic language barrier, while taking the user experience to an unprecedented level. “Think of the possibilities: someone from a small African-language community would then be able to access lectures remotely at, say, Harvard – in their own language – without a physical barrier, without a language barrier.”

Technology makes more things possible

At the same time, the use of photorealistic images also raises new issues. “Just think of the ownership of your digital image. It cannot be the intention that someone simply imitates or uses your digital image.” Metaphysic.ai brought up the topic with some very convincing deepfakes with Tom Cruise. The clips went viral on TikTok. “Of course, there is a risk of abuse,” says Chris Umé, “but that’s hard to prevent. The technology is there now. There’s no going back.”

Chris Umé

And what about access to that new technology? According to Chris Umé, that is the key. The technology should not create a division: no haves and have-nots here. “Technology makes more things possible,” he says. “AR and VR allow people on the other side of the world to experience things as if they were physically present.” As always, it is not so much about the technology itself, but about what you do with it.

Panic in the cinema

“AI is not creative on its own, AI has no emotions. You need human talent if you’re going to do something with it.” Should we be worried that AI is going to take over the world? “Of course not,” laughs Chris Umé. “People fear what they don’t know or understand. At the very first film screenings, it seemed as if a train was thundering into the hall from the big screen. People ran out of the cinema in a panic. That is exactly what we often see happening now when it comes to AI.”