Microsoft Research Asia recently released a paper claiming that its research team could generate lifelike talking faces of virtual characters. The team’s visual affective skills (VAS) were appealing and realistic. The framework required only one static image and a speech audio clip to generate a talking face with emotions, including facial nuances and natural head movements.
Microsoft said the portrait images used on its research page had been generated using StyleGAN2 or DALL-E-3 except for the Mona Lisa face.
The research paper noted that they were “exploring visual affective skill generation” that would be used on virtual, interactive characters. The software and hardware company had not impersonated a person in the real world.
VASA-1 can generate a one-minute-long clip. The resolution is 512 x 512 pixels with up to 40 frames per second. There is no compromise in image quality, and several gestures are effectively incorporated.
One version shows a photo of Mona Lisa rapping a song, while another face is a drawing of a man who is delivering a speech. Flaws can be detected only on close inspection.
Although Microsoft said that VASA-1 was only a research demonstration, its capabilities could cause potential harm. Microsoft said it would not release “an online demo, API, product, additional implementation details or related offerings” until the tech giant was sure that proper regulations would be followed.
Microsoft said it was against bad players using such content to impersonate humans or create content that misled or harmed them.
Instead, the tech giant said it wanted to use such lifelike talking faces and more to increase equity in education, improve accessibility for those facing communication challenges, and provide therapeutic support or community for those in need.
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