AI can make eye contact for you

The Future. The past few years have seen the rise of AI tools that can edit videos (and selfies) in real-time to make people look like they’re making eye contact with their cameras when they aren’t. The technology can be entertaining when used on movie footage, but what happens when everyone can use it on real-time video calls?

More than meets the eye
The Verge interviewed professional VFX specialist Daniel Hashimoto about his opinions and use of the technology.

• Hashimoto marveled at how easy it was to use. He simply linked his browser to NVIDIA’s Broadcast app, which then made real-time edits to any video footage he accessed online.
• Hashimoto was also impressed by the software’s “incredible” color-matching and lighting abilities.
• What’s more, the technology is subtle: if an actor has clearly angled their head away from the camera, the software will intuit that they’re looking at something else and hold off from editing.

Looking ahead
Hashimoto expressed certainty that “every video conferencing tool will have some version of this within the next little while” — and it’s already being used this way.

Some disapprove of the tool, claiming it makes users maintain an unnaturally intense stare. But others — including many on the autism spectrum — struggle with eye contact and are happy to have a tool that does it for them. Regardless, most people agree on one thing: it makes movies hilarious.