#10 Deeptech Analysed - Microsoft latest breakthrough: voice cloning to enhance natural conversations & Unlock the future of investment: how to invest in the Metaverse?
What's happening this week? 23/01/2023 - 29/01/2023
In this week…
1️⃣ Microsoft is cloning your voice…
2️⃣ How to invest in the Metaverse?
This new algorithm from Microsoft can can clone your voice from a 3-second audio clip and make it ultra realistic
By Lirone Samoun, Deeptech Expert
What is going on?
These last months have been rythmed by big technological breakthroughs. I'm thinking about automatic image generation with Midjourney or Dalle, conversational text generation with ChatGPT or automatic voice recognition with Whisper.
Today, a new step has been taken with VALL-E, a text-to-speech artificial intelligence tool that is capable of cloning your voice from just a 3-second audio clip.
The tool assures to be able to preserve both the tone and the emotion of the original speaker.
What does it mean?
Yes you got it.
You record 3 seconds of audio and that's it, the algorithm can generate texts with your way of speaking.
This means a lot about what is currently happening in the field of AI.
The implications of VALL-E are far-reaching. This algorithm has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology.
You can generate images.
You can generate stories, ideas…anything related to text.
You can generate videos.
Now you can generate a voice that sounds exactly like your voice.
In 10 min or less, you have the possibility to create a personalized avatar that can tell a personalized story with your own voice.
Awesome, right ?
Why does it matter?
💸For markets: New markets will develop and be created
Virtual assistants that sound exactly like their human counterparts. It could also be used to create conversational AI programs that sound like real people, making them more engaging and realistic.
Realistic voice overs for video games and movies but also for advertising and marketing campaigns. This could make the experience of watching advertisements and marketing campaigns much more engaging and immersive.
More realistic avatars for virtual reality applications, making the experience more engaging and realistic.
It could be used as well to create more natural conversations between humans and machines which could help in improving customer experience.
Just like today, you can use chatgpt for a whole bunch of businesses like generating articles, stories, books, etc, this kind of voice technology could be adapted for new use cases as well.
🧑🏿🤝🧑🏻For society: threat or opportunity?
It has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology.
We could have have virtual assistants that can use ultra-realistic voices that make the experience even more interesting and immersive.
We could use our voice to generate specific content like books, stories or articles.
We could have avatars that represent us very realistically.
But like everything, there can be negative deviations like more deepfakes.
The technology behind Vall-E would drastically improve the quality of deepfakes, the technology that allows one face to be plastered on another. By stealing a victim's face and voice, it will become much more difficult for the general public to discern the real from the fake. Think about identity theft.
AI is already able to imitate faces that are truer than life. With this new tool, it will soon be able to synthesize any voice in a matter of seconds.
🔮 What’s next? New ways for conversations
For the moment, Vall-E works only in English, and is not accessible to the general public. It is however possible to see the tool in action on its dedicated GitHub page, with examples made for research purposes.
The AI still has some flaws, especially in the audio transcription. Nevertheless, the result is impressive, especially since Microsoft is only at the beginning of its research.
To be used in the real world, Microsoft says that this system "should include a protocol to ensure that the speaker approves the use of his or her voice and a model for detecting synthesized speech," so that it can quickly tell whether what is heard is a human voice or a synthetic voice.
Microsoft is aware of the potential risks associated with VALL-E and is taking steps to ensure that the technology is used responsibly and that it is not misused. This could help in ensuring that the technology is used for its intended purposes and that it is not used to spread misinformation or to impersonate people
Finally, The company is exploring ways to use the technology to create more personalized audio clips and to create more natural conversations between humans and machines.
So what’s next ? what do you think about it ?
Unlock the future of investment: how to invest in the Metaverse?
By Eden Djanashvili, Deeptech Expert
What is going on?
The popularity of the Metaverse has seen increased growth during 2022 with hundreds of projects being developped and investments opportunities being created.
The concept is not new. The term metaverse was coined in 1992 by author Neal Stephenson in his sci-fi novel Snow Crash, and work on the technologies that underpin a virtual reality-based internet.
Many see the Metaverse as the next iteration of the Internet. A single, shared, immersive, persistent, 3D virtual space where humans experience life in ways they could not in the physical world.
What does it mean?
Today, companies use the term to refer to many different types of enhanced online environments ranging from online video games like Fortnite, to fledgling virtual workplaces like Microsoft's Mesh or Meta's Horizon Workrooms, to virtual dressing rooms and virtual operating rooms.
Investments are redirected to the technologies that provide access to this virtual world such as Virtual reality (VR) headsets and augmented reality (AR) glasses, which are evolving quickly. Other critical components of the metaverse, such as adequate bandwidth or interoperability standards, will take more time to materialize.
Why does it matter?
💸For markets: several ways to invest in the Metaverse
There is a perception that the only way to invest in the metaverse is through virtual currencies. However, there are different sectors that are already entering this universe:
Tokens and cryptocurrencies: each metaverse has its own tokens (objects that represent another virtual or physical object or, an abstract concept) and cryptocurrencies. Both are virtual payment currencies used to satisfy the user’s needs such as: purchase of games, clothing, etc. in each metaverse platform.
Games in the Metaverse: games represent 3D worlds that offer new environments to socialise. Players can customise their avatars and interact with others.
Investing in NFT: these are cryptoassets that intend to certify the digital work as original, unique and exclusive.
Real estate Metaverse: Decentraland and The Sandbox are two of the most relevant creators, selling lands to start building virtual worlds.
Invest in companies: that are directly developping the right technology to advance the materialisation of the Metaverse and in parallel, companies who are investing in data and security. Analysis of key data and reliable transactions are key.
This diversity offers new approaches to investing in the Metaverse.
🧑🏿🤝🧑🏻For society: the “Creator Economy” in the Metaverse
The Metaverse creators will be the next active and profitable vertical of the creator economy in the years to come. A marketplace economy built around digital creators like bloggers, videographers, 3D artists, and social media influencers reaching their audiences through platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Youtube, etc. to earn a living or build a business around these audiences.
To create a truly Metaverse creator-focused economy, creators need to have a place where they can realize the value of their creations in a more fair, open, and interoperable environment. Several opportunities are considered:
3D and AR creators -creators offering up immersive experiences ranging from digital avatars for immersive concert experiences to user-generated 3D content on gaming platforms like Roblox, to using AR and VR to boost visitor engagement at galleries and museums.
Game mechanics and AI -powerful tools to simplify the process of content creation.
NFTs (mentioned above).
Creators building 3D and AR assets will be the biggest influencers and collaborators shaping the metaverse. The creators are making content and experiences for people, and their competitive advantage comes from their unique understanding of certain communities, new ways of connecting with audiences, new forms of storytelling, creativity and mastery of new forms of expression.
🔮What’s next?
How individual investors can deploy their capital in the Metaverse?
Focus on innovations that are looking to build the Metaverse infrastructure anything that connect people and has a strategical advantage and service in the long-term. Examples are blockchain index, 3D models, AI drive, …
Invest in tools such as wallets, ability to use an avatar, easy access to services, generative AI, …
Focus on equity, token and gaming NFTs (that have a real value behind).
Virtual lands.
Any investment that will allow build an ecosystem of decentralised users in the long-term.
.