Strategic Changes by Virtual Human Companies and Future Outlook — Active in Various Fields, Culture and Ethics Beyond Simple Technology Must Be Established

Virtual humans (digital humans) are deeply embedded in our lives — from virtual idols to corporate education, trainers, influencers, virtual friends, and AI bankers. NVIDIA, Krafton, and Shinhan Bank are advancing virtual humans more human than humans. Company strategies: (1) NVIDIA — launched ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine) microservices in June 2024 for digital human development: real-time voice recognition, translation, and facial animation APIs enabling developers to easily create and deploy digital humans; previously launched Omniverse Avatar (2022) for realistic digital avatars with real-time interaction; strategic shift from "advanced virtual human creation" to developer convenience, compatibility, and versatility; (2) Krafton — announced digital human development roadmap: photo-realistic digital humans for games and entertainment; PUBG characters as digital humans with AI-driven personalities; Korean entertainment industry partnerships for virtual idol creation; significant GPU infrastructure investment enabling real-time rendering; (3) Shinhan Bank — deployed virtual influencer "Rozy" as brand ambassador: insurance advertising achieving recognition equivalent to human celebrities; demonstrates financial services' adoption of virtual humans for trust-building with younger demographics; (4) International examples: Lil Miquela (3M+ Instagram followers, Prada/Calvin Klein campaigns); Shudu (first digital supermodel, Balmain campaigns); Ayayi (China's most influential digital human, Valentino collaborations). Industry challenges: privacy and data protection as digital humans collect interaction data; ethical questions about disclosure requirements for virtual human interactions; the "digital human fatigue" risk as oversaturation reduces impact; maintaining consistent personality and behavior across thousands of simultaneous interactions. Sustainable digital human design requires cultural coexistence — technology enabling human-like interaction must be accompanied by frameworks ensuring users understand they're interacting with AI, preserving trust in both virtual and human relationships.