This Chatbot Is Trying Hard To Look And Feel Like Us

Among the attributes credited for Apple's famous customer loyalty is a network of stores where curious or frustrated consumers can meet the company face-to-face. The 3D design software maker Autodesk is trying to achieve something similar online with a help service that allows people to interact with what sure looks like an actual human. The company says that next year it will introduce a new version of its Autodesk Virtual Agent (AVA) avatar, with an exceedingly lifelike face, voice, and set of "emotions" provided by a New Zealand AI and effects startup called Soul Machines. Born in February as a roughly sketched avatar on a chat interface, AVA's CGI makeover will turn her into a hyper-detailed, 3D-rendered character–what Soul Machines calls a digital human. The Autodesk deal is Soul Machines' first major gig, following a pilot project with the Australia National Disability Insurance Agency from February to September, 2016, and some proof-of-concept demos, like a recent one with Air New Zealand.