{"id":34470,"date":"2026-06-22T15:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/2026\/06\/22\/ai-avatars-and-digital-doubles-are-stepping-into-real-life\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:19:25","slug":"ai-avatars-and-digital-doubles-are-stepping-into-real-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/2026\/06\/22\/ai-avatars-and-digital-doubles-are-stepping-into-real-life\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Avatars and Digital Doubles are Stepping into Real Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

This article was originally written by Rob Wu and published online by Spectrum News.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Artificial intelligence is no longer just changing how content is created. It\u2019s starting to change how people are represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From fashion to entertainment, education and even a courtroom, AI avatars and digital doubles that can look and sound real are appearing in more places than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At N.C. State, students are learning how to build them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the Lab<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Step inside N.C. State\u2019s Virtual Production Lab, and it feels like a movie set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a massive LED wall, motion-tracking cameras and powerful software working together behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put it all together, and the result is a digital avatar that can move and react like the real person it\u2019s modeled after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of the AI digital doubles that are coming out, they go past the uncanny valley,\u201d said Topher Maraffi, an assistant professor in the College of Design at N.C. State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create those digital doubles, students start with a smartphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They use apps like Epic Games\u2019 RealityScan to scan a person\u2019s face and create a spatially accurate model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do that by just running a phone camera around their heads to get enough coverage,\u201d Maraffi said. \u201cThat actually stitches together the model of the head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Professor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From there, the model is imported into a graphics engine, where students refine details and bring the avatar to life using motion capture technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With suits, gloves and even facial tracking, every movement can be streamed onto the digital version in real time. Students are getting hands-on experience with the same tools used in film and television production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of film companies are now using virtual production and using digital doubles,\u201d Maraffi said. \u201cThey started for things like stunt doubles, but nowadays you have de-aging in films, you have a lot of motion capture in games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the technology isn\u2019t cheap (the Rokoko motion capture suit alone costs around $3,500), prices are coming down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s becoming where individual creators and small studios can actually afford this stuff, and then they can do stuff that they’ve never been able to do before,\u201d Maraffi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Hollywood to Fashion and Controversy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even if you haven\u2019t stepped into a production lab, you\u2019ve likely already seen AI avatars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the latest season of the show “Ted,” creator Seth MacFarlane used AI to transform his face into former President Bill Clinton for a scene. The actor said they tried prosthetics and traditional CGI, but it didn\u2019t look right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool and not necessarily trample on the art that the rest of the industry is doing,\u201d said MacFarlane in an Associated Press interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fashion world, brands are increasingly turning to AI-generated models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one example, a Guess advertisement campaign<\/a> featured in an issue of Vogue magazine used a digital model that never ages. The fine print credited an AI marketing company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ad sparked backlash with some critics calling it misleading and out of touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fashion and the beauty industry, for me personally, it feels very dishonest to use avatars,\u201d said Jason Mann, cofounder of STOCK, a growth marketing company. \u201cYou’re showing what can you do for these people, but you’re showing how it’s benefiting through an AI lens, not an actual human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As companies experiment with the technology, Mann believes audiences will respond differently depending on where the technology is used and whether they expect to see a real person. While it may work well in entertainment, the case may not be the same in industries where authenticity is a key part of the appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a survey<\/a> Vogue conducted of its own readers, 51% said they would feel more negatively toward brands that use AI while making a luxury fashion or beauty product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI Avatars in College<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The technology is also making its way into education. At the University of Virginia, students in a Learning Hub Program were taught effective study strategies in a remote research course led by an AI avatar rather than just reading text or working through online modules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realize it was an AI avatar until I started playing the video,\u201d student Juhee Lee said. \u201cI think the avatar was pretty humanlike, but I could tell it was AI eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An AI avatar instructor shown in a video used in a University of Virginia research course. (Mariana Teles)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By using an AI avatar to deliver parts of the course online, the program was able to reach significantly more students. The class, which does not count toward academic credit but can fulfill a research requirement for foundational psychology courses, traditionally had space for about 40 students in person. With the addition of an avatar-led virtual version, another 80 spots were added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought it was a lot more engaging,\u201d freshman Annabelle Bragdon said. \u201cI also thought it was really helpful for learning, and I still use a lot of the techniques that they taught me in the course now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Deeply Personal use in the Courtroom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Stacey Wales used AI to create a video of her brother, Chris Pelkey, who died due to a road-rage shooting, giving a statement in court. (Stacey Wales)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Arizona, the technology took on a far more emotional role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a road-rage shooting killed Chris Pelkey, his family created an AI-generated version of him to deliver a victim impact statement in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His sister, Stacey Wales, said she wanted to give him a voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis whole trial is about him and because of him and for him. But what would he say? I know exactly what he would say,\u201d Wales said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using photos, voice samples and words she believed he would say, a digital version of her brother spoke in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI loved that AI. Thank you for that,\u201d said the judge after watching the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AI video of her brother wrapped up nearly three hours of victim impact statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI absolutely felt that we accomplished our mission and our goal, which was to humanize Chris and make him be viewed as a person that is no longer here but was here with his own thoughts, his own feeling,\u201d Wales said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Rapidly Evolving Technology and Unanswered Questions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As AI avatars and digital humans appear in more settings, questions are growing about how and where they should be used and what may be lost along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a blue ocean right now. We don’t know what’s going to happen, how things are going to play out, where people are going to resonate with in these type of mediums,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who follow the technology, just keeping up can be a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery semester we have to learn new stuff and come up-to-speed on new levels of technology that are coming out,\u201d Maraffi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wales believes the mixed reaction to AI avatars isn\u2019t new and points to history as a guide. She compares today\u2019s debate to the early days of photography more than 200 years ago, when some people embraced it, while others pushed back, calling it unnatural. Over time, she said, photography became part of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt did not usurp human connection. It enhanced it,\u201d Wales said. \u201cAnd I think AI is going to do the same thing in ways that we can\u2019t even imagine.\u201d <\/p>\n

This post was originally published<\/a> in College of Design Blog.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

This article was originally written by Rob Wu and published online by Spectrum News.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Artificial intelligence is no longer just changing how content is created. It\u2019s starting to change how people are represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From fashion to entertainment, education and even a courtroom, AI avatars and digital doubles that can look and sound real are appearing in more places than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At N.C. State, students are learning how to build them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the Lab<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Step inside N.C. State\u2019s Virtual Production Lab, and it feels like a movie set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a massive LED wall, motion-tracking cameras and powerful software working together behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put it all together, and the result is a digital avatar that can move and react like the real person it\u2019s modeled after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of the AI digital doubles that are coming out, they go past the uncanny valley,\u201d said Topher Maraffi, an assistant professor in the College of Design at N.C. State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create those digital doubles, students start with a smartphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They use apps like Epic Games\u2019 RealityScan to scan a person\u2019s face and create a spatially accurate model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do that by just running a phone camera around their heads to get enough coverage,\u201d Maraffi said. \u201cThat actually stitches together the model of the head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Professor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From there, the model is imported into a graphics engine, where students refine details and bring the avatar to life using motion capture technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With suits, gloves and even facial tracking, every movement can be streamed onto the digital version in real time. Students are getting hands-on experience with the same tools used in film and television production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of film companies are now using virtual production and using digital doubles,\u201d Maraffi said. \u201cThey started for things like stunt doubles, but nowadays you have de-aging in films, you have a lot of motion capture in games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the technology isn\u2019t cheap (the Rokoko motion capture suit alone costs around $3,500), prices are coming down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt's becoming where individual creators and small studios can actually afford this stuff, and then they can do stuff that they've never been able to do before,\u201d Maraffi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Hollywood to Fashion and Controversy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even if you haven\u2019t stepped into a production lab, you\u2019ve likely already seen AI avatars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the latest season of the show \"Ted,\" creator Seth MacFarlane used AI to transform his face into former President Bill Clinton for a scene. The actor said they tried prosthetics and traditional CGI, but it didn\u2019t look right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool and not necessarily trample on the art that the rest of the industry is doing,\u201d said MacFarlane in an Associated Press interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fashion world, brands are increasingly turning to AI-generated models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one example, a Guess advertisement campaign<\/a> featured in an issue of Vogue magazine used a digital model that never ages. The fine print credited an AI marketing company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ad sparked backlash with some critics calling it misleading and out of touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fashion and the beauty industry, for me personally, it feels very dishonest to use avatars,\u201d said Jason Mann, cofounder of STOCK, a growth marketing company. \u201cYou're showing what can you do for these people, but you're showing how it's benefiting through an AI lens, not an actual human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As companies experiment with the technology, Mann believes audiences will respond differently depending on where the technology is used and whether they expect to see a real person. While it may work well in entertainment, the case may not be the same in industries where authenticity is a key part of the appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a survey<\/a> Vogue conducted of its own readers, 51% said they would feel more negatively toward brands that use AI while making a luxury fashion or beauty product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI Avatars in College<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The technology is also making its way into education. At the University of Virginia, students in a Learning Hub Program were taught effective study strategies in a remote research course led by an AI avatar rather than just reading text or working through online modules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realize it was an AI avatar until I started playing the video,\u201d student Juhee Lee said. \u201cI think the avatar was pretty humanlike, but I could tell it was AI eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An AI avatar instructor shown in a video used in a University of Virginia research course. (Mariana Teles)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By using an AI avatar to deliver parts of the course online, the program was able to reach significantly more students. The class, which does not count toward academic credit but can fulfill a research requirement for foundational psychology courses, traditionally had space for about 40 students in person. With the addition of an avatar-led virtual version, another 80 spots were added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought it was a lot more engaging,\u201d freshman Annabelle Bragdon said. \u201cI also thought it was really helpful for learning, and I still use a lot of the techniques that they taught me in the course now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Deeply Personal use in the Courtroom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Stacey Wales used AI to create a video of her brother, Chris Pelkey, who died due to a road-rage shooting, giving a statement in court. (Stacey Wales)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Arizona, the technology took on a far more emotional role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a road-rage shooting killed Chris Pelkey, his family created an AI-generated version of him to deliver a victim impact statement in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His sister, Stacey Wales, said she wanted to give him a voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis whole trial is about him and because of him and for him. But what would he say? I know exactly what he would say,\u201d Wales said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using photos, voice samples and words she believed he would say, a digital version of her brother spoke in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI loved that AI. Thank you for that,\u201d said the judge after watching the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AI video of her brother wrapped up nearly three hours of victim impact statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI absolutely felt that we accomplished our mission and our goal, which was to humanize Chris and make him be viewed as a person that is no longer here but was here with his own thoughts, his own feeling,\u201d Wales said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Rapidly Evolving Technology and Unanswered Questions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As AI avatars and digital humans appear in more settings, questions are growing about how and where they should be used and what may be lost along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt's a blue ocean right now. We don't know what's going to happen, how things are going to play out, where people are going to resonate with in these type of mediums,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who follow the technology, just keeping up can be a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery semester we have to learn new stuff and come up-to-speed on new levels of technology that are coming out,\u201d Maraffi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wales believes the mixed reaction to AI avatars isn\u2019t new and points to history as a guide. She compares today\u2019s debate to the early days of photography more than 200 years ago, when some people embraced it, while others pushed back, calling it unnatural. Over time, she said, photography became part of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt did not usurp human connection. It enhanced it,\u201d Wales said. \u201cAnd I think AI is going to do the same thing in ways that we can\u2019t even imagine.\u201d <\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens when artificial intelligence can look, sound and respond just like a real person? In a recent Spectrum News feature, College of Design faculty explore the rise of AI avatars and digital humans, examining both the opportunities and ethical questions surrounding this rapidly evolving technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":34471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"ncstate_wire","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-34470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-_from-newswire-collection-435"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34482,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34470\/revisions\/34482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/mad-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}