Fans yearning to speak with Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe now have their chance, thanks to artificial intelligence. At the recent SXSW festival, AI technology company Soul Machines debuted their "Digital Marilyn," an AI-generated digital avatar that lets fans interact with the late actress through a chatbot. According to Soul Machine's website, their "revolutionary Biological AI technology" promises a "real-time, personalized interaction." The site notes "Every interaction is unique. Digital Marilyn analyzes your preferences and tailors her responses accordingly, fostering a genuine connection that resonates with you on an individual level."

There's been a lot of discussion in recent years about the practice of capitalizing on celebrities' digital likenesses without their consent, whether after they die or while they're still alive. Zelda Williams, for one -- the Lisa Frankenstein director and daughter of Robin Williams -- slammed the "disturbing" trend of people trying to recreate the voices and faces of the deceased last year, as striking actors fought for, among other things, better protections around studios' potential use of AI clones. Yet despite the obvious ethical issues, companies keep doing it. Soul Machines just unveiled "Digital Marilyn," an AI chatbot designed to look and talk just like Marilyn Monroe. The company, which specializes in what it refers to as Biological AI-powered Digital People, debuted the Marilyn bot at SXSW on Friday in a partnership with Authentic Brands Group.

There is a lot more than the usual amount of handwringing over AI these days. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger put out a new book last week warning of AI's dangers. Fresh AI warnings have also been issued by professors Stuart Russell (UC Berkeley) and Youval Harari (University of Jerusalem). Op-eds from the editorial board at the Guardian and Maureen Dowd at the New York Times have amplified these concerns. Facebook -- now rebranded as Meta -- has come under growing pressure for its algorithms creating social toxicity, but it is hardly alone.

In a stark white browser tab, Sam -- a young blonde woman with perfectly shaped lips -- asks me for the solution to 2 2. I immediately think of the infamous Star Trek: The Next Generation episode in which a tortured Captain Picard is shown four lights. If he admits there are five lights, the ordeal will stop. I'm at home, staring at the future face of the metaverse and trying valiantly not to think about memes from a TV show known for its exploration of ethics and humanity. Sam isn't a real person -- she's a digital human created by Auckland-based tech company Soul Machines. Designed to have a short conversation with visitors about herself, she runs on a proprietary "digital brain" and studies my expressions via webcam.

AI is everywhere in tech, and you can bet it will be a vital topic at TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 on September 21-23. As always, every Disrupt features peerless experts and boundary-pushing visionaries and Disrupt 2021 will not disappoint on that or any other score. With more than 80 interviews, panel discussions, events and breakout sessions -- and counting -- we're shining a spotlight on sessions related to AI and robotics. Get amongst it: Buy your pass today, join thousands of attendees from around the world and get ready to learn about the latest in AI, robotics, rockets and so much more. Here are just some of the AI and robotics presentations we have on tap.

Ruth the Cookie Coach is a digital human being introduced by the Toll House brand of Nestle Global to provide baking assistance on a 24-7 basis, using an avatar incorporating AI that exhibits a degree of emotional intelligence, according to the company. Ruth is named after the creator of the Nestle Toll House original chocolate chip cookie, Ruth Wakefield. The avatar is the culmination of two years of effort between Soul Machines, which offers a Human OS platform with a Digital Brain, and Nestle. Founded in 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, Soul Machines has raised $65 million to date, according to Crunchbase. The company was spun out of the University of Auckland by Mark Sagar, CEO and Greg Cross, chief business officer.

The videos i this article will blow your mind... and they are already out of date. Soul Machines is on the cutting edge of building commercial AI avatars that can appear on a computer screen, and even in 3D, to simulate face-to-face engagement. The face in the main image of this article is one of their 3D avatars and they are already being deployed in banks and energy companies to inform and serve customers. With names such as Jamie (ANZ Bank), Will (Vector Energy), Ava (Autodesk), and Sarah (Daimler Mercedes Benz), they are connecting with customers, replicating human emotion, providing the right answers and asking insightful questions. Many call centre workers in affluent countries have been'off-shored' to lower cost countries, and now those roles are set to be outsourced to AI bots.

Artificial intelligence is top of mind for many in the marketing and communications world. Many Marcom departments already use AI to analyze consumer behavior and try to predict future needs. Many brands use algorithms to recommend personalized content, show personalized ads, as well as power customer service chatbots. But what if AI can help brands take their brand voice to the next level? Brands usually spend thousands, if not millions of dollars, fine-tuning their brand voice, which describes a company's personality.

Artificial intelligence is top of mind for many in the marketing and communications world. Many Marcom departments already use AI to analyze consumer behavior and try to predict future needs. Many brands use algorithms to recommend personalized content, show personalized ads, as well as power customer service chatbots. But what if AI can help brands take their brand voice to the next level? Brands usually spend thousands, if not millions of dollars, fine-tuning their brand voice, which describes a company's personality. Now, AI in digital marketing has a whole new face - literally, as digital avatars and synthetic beings enter the digital marketing world.

What if AI can help brands take their brand voice to the next level? Artificial intelligence is top of mind for many in the marketing and communications world. Many Marcom departments already use AI to analyze consumer behavior and try to predict future needs. Many brands use algorithms to recommend personalized content, show personalized ads, as well as power customer service chatbots. But what if AI can help brands take their brand voice to the next level? Brands usually spend thousands, if not millions of dollars, fine-tuning their brand voice, which describes a company's personality.