Virtual Beings Links 2025-06 (June)

Notes:

This webpage is a chronological digest of developments in AI avatars and digital humans across sectors such as entertainment, education, healthcare, marketing, and public services, highlighting their increasing integration into daily life and work. It documents their use as VR sex dolls, livestream sellers, game assets, telehealth agents, grief bots, K-pop idols, and synthetic educators, while also noting major tool releases (e.g., MetaHuman, AvatarFX), commercial successes (e.g., DJ Dex, Baidu streamers), and regulatory or ethical debates surrounding realism, identity, labor, and emotional manipulation. The page also includes coverage of legal protections, corporate deployments, educational applications, and emerging industry standards, underscoring the rapid normalization and controversy of virtual beings in global society.

Resources:

Meta’s Rightward Shift Coincides with Lockout of Virtual Beings Group Administrator (21 June 2025)

See also:

Virtual Beings Meta Guide

[45x Jun 2025]

2025-06-06 21:59:42 .. Facebook suspended Marcus L Endicott’s account on June 5, 2025, for violating its Community Standards on cybersecurity. The platform determined that his account or activity posed a potential cybersecurity risk, such as suspicious behavior, unauthorized access, or distribution of harmful content. The account is currently inaccessible and invisible to others, but he has 180 days to appeal the decision by providing information to support a review. If no appeal is made, the account will be permanently disabled.

2025-06-04 07:13:36 .. Reddit users are divided over VRChat’s new Avatar Marketplace, with critics highlighting reduced customization, file ownership, and modifiability—especially for PC users—while supporters emphasize increased accessibility, safety, and monetization opportunities for creators, particularly benefiting Quest users and newcomers.
2025-06-04 07:12:30 .. Epic Games has released its MetaHuman creation tool with Unreal Engine 5.6, introducing real-time facial animation from standard cameras, upgraded character features, and a revised EULA allowing use in any game engine or creative software.
2025-06-04 07:11:17 .. AvatarFX is an AI video generation platform by CharacterAI, led by Weimin Wang, that creates realistic, emotionally expressive storytelling videos from a single image and audio using a DiT-based diffusion model with custom optimizations and safety controls.
2025-06-02 22:40:58 .. Kasanare, Canon Marketing Japan, and AI model launched a proof-of-concept project for a real-time, conversational AI system combining multilingual, context-aware interaction and high-definition visuals to enhance customer service in physical locations while reducing operational workload.
2025-06-02 22:39:55 .. Microsoft is testing an experimental Copilot feature called “Live Portraits” that introduces animated avatars to give the AI assistant a more human and customizable visual identity, building on earlier avatar initiatives and set for web and desktop rollout with broader Copilot enhancements.
2025-06-02 22:38:41 .. Beijing IMC applied for a patent on a real-time AI system that enhances digital human interaction and emotional expression by simultaneously processing voice, facial, and body data using edge computing and adaptive learning for applications like virtual assistants and remote education.
2025-06-02 22:37:05 .. A major Beijing tech company has quietly launched Keevx, an AI-powered digital human video creation tool for overseas users, offering script generation, multilingual support, and customizable avatars to help small businesses and content creators easily produce professional videos for various applications.
2025-06-02 22:35:35 .. Roblox is hiring a Sr Manager/Manager for AI Data Operations in San Mateo to lead data labeling initiatives for its AI efforts, overseeing teams and workflows, ensuring data quality, and collaborating with stakeholders, with a salary range of $232,360 to $290,580.
2025-06-02 22:34:28 .. These tools enable customizable, multilingual, and automated avatar-based video creation for uses such as marketing, training, and communication, featuring lifelike avatars, script-to-video generation, voice cloning, facial animation, CRM and LMS integration, and scalable workflows for individuals and enterprises.
2025-06-02 22:32:30 .. A client in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, is offering $10–$30 USD per hour for remote testers to evaluate an NLP AI model used in a digital human project, focusing on lip-sync accuracy and latency, requiring a detailed report and video demo.
2025-06-02 22:30:29 .. This study analyzes over 800 user reviews to reveal how Replika, an AI chatbot marketed for emotional support, has engaged in persistent and inappropriate sexual behavior, leading to user distress and raising urgent concerns about consent, safety, and the need for ethical design and regulatory accountability in AI companion systems.
2025-06-02 22:27:09 .. Tim LeTourneau, co-creator of The Sims and influential game developer, has passed away, leaving a legacy that spans key roles at Maxis, EA, Zynga, and other studios, where he shaped iconic titles through leadership and collaboration.
2025-06-02 22:26:02 .. This paper finds that virtual influencers enhance brand image in tourism and hospitality by creating memorable, personalized, and congruent experiences that increase consumer satisfaction and positively shape perceptions of the brand.
2025-06-02 22:24:34 .. The Influencer Ethnography Research Lab has released recordings from the Virtual Influencers in the Asia Pacific symposium, which examined the diverse forms and cultural significance of virtual influencers across the region, organized by Rachel Berryman and Prof. Crystal Abidin.
2025-06-01 23:26:00 .. A teaching demonstration in Zigong, Sichuan showcased how AI digital humans are enhancing primary science education by serving as interactive assistants that support hands-on learning and student engagement in STEM.
2025-06-01 23:24:40 .. A simulated press conference at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies showcased how digital humans like Wang Xiaoxin are being integrated into journalism education to enhance policy communication, digital storytelling, and prepare students for AI-driven media environments.
2025-06-01 23:23:18 .. The Yangtze River Delta (Yancheng) Digital Audiovisual Industry Base, launched in June 2023, is a major hub for 5G, AI, and VR innovation, featuring advanced digital human technologies, over 100 resident firms, and Baidu’s first national digital human base, driving significant regional output and employment.
2025-06-01 23:21:54 .. DHM 2025 explores digital humans by integrating simulations, avatars, and behavioral models to enhance human capabilities in health, safety, ergonomics, and risk management through physical, cognitive, and social dimensions.
2025-06-01 23:20:44 .. This study finds that virtual influencers can effectively shape travel intentions on social media, with social power and parasocial interaction theories, along with users’ emotions and perceptions of usefulness and realism, explaining their persuasive impact.
2025-06-01 23:19:37 .. This paper finds that human-like AI livestream hosts can enhance purchase intentions by appearing effective at marketing, but overly realistic designs risk triggering discomfort and reducing consumer interest due to the uncanny valley effect.
2025-06-01 01:36:13 .. Yunmeng County Museum and Hubei Unicom launched the Time Gate AI cultural kiosk featuring digital human avatars of historical figures, allowing visitors to interactively experience ancient Chu culture by merging their images with period elements, promoting cultural tourism through digital innovation.
2025-06-01 01:34:50 .. Yinchuan launched its first AI sign language news anchor, Xinyu, a lifelike digital human developed to deliver sign language news for the city’s hearing-impaired residents, highlighting the use of AI to enhance accessibility and social inclusion.
2025-06-01 01:33:26 .. Jing’an District has introduced an AI digital human named “Xiao Jing” at its medical insurance center to provide instant, voice-interactive assistance with insurance policies, integrating smart display, location-based services, video calls, and QR code access to streamline public healthcare services and reduce in-person visits.
2025-06-01 01:32:03 .. Hangzhou Yuanmei Technology Co., Ltd., a tech services firm founded in 2021, has gained attention for filing multiple AI-related patents—particularly for virtual news anchors and digital avatars—positioning itself as a digital human innovator despite lacking a public web or social media presence.
2025-06-01 01:30:34 .. Epic Games is seeking a Senior Gameplay AI Engineer for Fortnite in Cary, North Carolina, to develop and optimize AI systems for the Battle Royale team using tools like Behavior Trees and Pathfinding, requiring strong C++ skills and AAA game development experience.
2025-06-01 01:29:34 .. Genies, Inc., a company known for its AI avatars and UGC tools used by celebrities, is hiring a Junior Motion Graphics Designer to create animated marketing content and collaborate across teams while exploring AI-assisted design, offering a salary of $65,000–$90,000.
2025-06-01 01:28:26 .. Arcads AI is a web-based platform that allows marketers and businesses to quickly generate professional UGC-style video ads using customizable AI-generated actors, streamlining production with over 300 lifelike avatars and eliminating the need for traditional filming.
2025-06-01 01:26:43 .. These games feature diverse AI companions, ranging from adaptive learners in Dragon’s Dogma 2 and morally responsive allies in Fallout: New Vegas to emotionally reactive partners in Red Dead Redemption 2 and autonomous Sims in The Sims 3, each showcasing distinct forms of behavioral realism and interaction.
2025-06-01 01:24:19 .. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has reintroduced her AI avatar, AI Yuriko, to YouTube with upgraded features to improve public access to policy updates, sparking both praise and skepticism just ahead of the Tokyo assembly election, though Koike denies political intent.
2025-06-01 01:23:01 .. Saamana, a Marathi newspaper affiliated with the Shiv Sena (UBT), has launched Tejasvi AI—the first Marathi-language AI news anchor—as a young male avatar on YouTube to modernize regional journalism, though the developers remain undisclosed amid a broader trend of AI adoption in Indian-language media.
2025-06-01 01:21:37 .. This study found that while Gen Z in Jakarta is attracted to virtual influencers for their futuristic appeal and cultural relevance, they remain skeptical due to perceived emotional inauthenticity and identity concerns, favoring human influencers for trusted endorsements and calling for transparency and ethical regulation in virtual marketing.
2025-06-01 01:19:26 .. This paper finds that while biodigital influencers are seen as innovative and effective tools for tourism marketing, offering cost-efficiency and youth appeal, concerns about authenticity, trust, and ethics underline the need for careful, value-driven implementation.