BIGO’s Senior Vice President James Wang
Singapore-based BIGO Technology offers a global live-streaming platform Bigo Live. Since its inception in 2016, Bigo Live has gained about 400 million monthly active users in over 150 countries and raised US$272 million in funding from 24 investors, including 5Y Capital and Ping An Overseas Holdings.
Over the past year, Bigo Live expanded into pan-entertainment offerings and the metaverse. To provide users with immersive and social live streaming, BigoLive has added a new social language to engage users refreshingly and interactively.
In an email interview with e27, BIGO’s Senior Vice President James Wang walks us through the new feature, the impact of AI-generated content in the live-streaming space, and the metaverse.
Excerpts:
How is Bigo Live leveraging AI to enhance creativity and user experiences within the metaverse?
We see many exciting and innovative cases of how social media platforms can leverage technologies such as Web3 to transform how users interact and conduct online activities.
Bigo Live currently uses AI to enhance our content curation system — to deliver the best content matching users’ interests and is more relevant and personalised.
AI has also improved the discovery process for talented creators and allows us to channel resources to them more effectively. We explore ways to utilise and integrate AI and AIGC (AI-generated content) to provide a seamless socialisation experience to our users across the globe.
Our ‘Virtual Live’ feature, launched in December 2021, allows users to create personalised virtual 3D avatars to represent themselves and communicate with other users on the platform. ‘Virtual Live’ is developed using our virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology to capture realistic facial expressions and mimic user movements as they live stream in real time.
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Most recently, Bigo Live also tested our first-ever AI-enabled chatbot feature, which can be used across various functions on the platform. We introduced social bots to help our broadcasters increase their fanbase and improve user retention.
With all these features, our users can immerse themselves in their virtual identities, regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, levels of expertise, or talent.
How does Bigo Live facilitate the harmonious combination of AI-generated content and organic content creators on its platform with AI-centric features?
Bigo Live empowers our users to find their own voice and, most importantly, showcase their talents and build connections with a global audience. This ensures the long-term sustainable growth of our social entertainment ecosystem.
Our broadcasters are from different parts of the world. They are a key part of our growing creator platform, elevating Bigo Live into a catalyst for an organic development of a creator-centric ecosystem built on inclusiveness and a real sense of connection.
We see the potential benefits of AIGC. We want to provide an inclusive platform for our users worldwide to freely practice their freedom of speech and showcase their talents.
Our creators, whether they publish organic or AI-generated content, have positively impacted our community. We are glad to be on the path to providing them with one more choice to express themselves. The final goal is to foster meaningful human connections.
At Bigo Live, we have seen stories of many creators who have had the opportunity to become influencers, access the entertainment industry and grow into global superstars with immense support from the community.
What measures does Bigo Live take to ensure that AI-generated content upholds the authenticity and originality of content creators within the metaverse?
On the surface, the metaverse is an online replica of the physical world in a virtual 3D digital environment. However, the metaverse is not just a digital replica but a representation of an actualisation of your ideal persona that complements, not replaces the physical self.
Similarly, interactions in the metaverse are not meant to substitute real-world interactions but an extension.
As such, the live streaming industry, as a tech-first industry, hosts essential technological tools like AI, VR and AR, which are the crucial building blocks of the metaverse.
Livestreaming platforms such as Bigo Live can serve as a gateway to full VR events where entirely virtual events allow for an unlimited audience, and sophisticated AR technology can foster an engaging co-presence that people can relate to. While entertainment events are the most prominent examples, this experience can be applied to any event, including lectures, art, and conventions.
While AIGC is still nascent, mega industries such as social media, events and communications tech are already recognising and beginning to leverage the new capabilities and opportunities it offers. Live streaming, combined with other innovative technologies, will be an essential gateway to exploring and developing the full potential of the metaverse.
Here at Bigo, we hope to create a holistic live-streaming experience bolstered by our AI, VR and AR technology, empowering people to build meaningful connections and thoroughly explore the beauty of humanity.
Can you provide examples of how AI-generated content on Bigo Live’s platform has pushed the boundaries of creativity and introduced new possibilities for virtual interactions?
Our best example of this to date has been our ‘Virtual Live’. This gives our broadcasters the freedom to design their own avatars to their own preference and liking and to take on their virtual-self to interact authentically with their viewers. It is driven by AI technology, but the creators behind the avatars are real humans.
In the meantime, we are actively exploring other options and features that utilise these emerging technologies to enhance the experience for our users. As mentioned above, the features like integrating AIGC into the socialisation process we look to introduce should enable users to have a seamless socialisation experience and not replace authentic human connections.
How does Bigo Live address concerns about potential ethical implications or misuse of AI technology in creating content within the metaverse?
We believe that AI technology and the innovative tools that are accessible to today’s internet users are a means to support their creative expression, help them better understand the world and to deepen their relations with other people in the online environment.
At BIGO, we always prioritise the safety of our community and want to create a space where users can be free to express themselves.
We have strict measures to ensure that our broadcasters do not contravene any of our community policies – be it in terms of the organic or AI-generated content they publish on Bigo Live. We believe that platform regulations shall be gradually improved as the AIGC trend grows, and we look forward to working with industry peers to set up a better standard.
How can AIGC and generative AI enhance the metaverse experience for today’s social media users while allowing them to have immersive and authentic experiences?
Integrating AIGC and generative AI features can improve the metaverse experience while retaining immersive and interactive experiences. Social media networks can provide users a more tailored and evolving virtual environment within the metaverse by utilising AIGC and generative AI.
AIGC can be used to create animated and lifelike virtual characters and landscapes, giving the metaverse greater complexity.
A more realistic and interactive experience is produced because of these AI-generated features’ ability to adjust and react to human behaviour. Similarly, generative AI can power intuitive chatbots that can respond with human-like responses, providing users with a seamless and more immersive virtual experience.
What are the upcoming trends and developments within the social media industry, and how social media platforms are evolving to support emerging and new technologies?
According to a study by Cisco, 82 per cent of the global consumer internet traffic enjoys watching video content. This demonstrates the significant impact and appeal of video-based content in capturing the attention and engagement of users.
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The role of technology in the social media space ensures a seamless users experience through automation and interactive features. The metaverse has been progressively integrated into social media, opening new avenues for creativity, entertainment, and connection, creating a dynamic and ever-evolving digital landscape.
The live-streaming industry has seen massive growth over the past few years. As an ever-evolving industry with an increasingly tech-savvy millennial population, the growth opportunities are limitless. Users are shifting to video-first social experiences, such as live streaming, that favour content creators. We have noticed a shift towards authentic experiences as users are moving towards a model of paying for everyday content creators instead of professionally produced content.
In this aspect, the live-streaming industry will continue to be a place for talented individuals and content creators to grow and achieve self-actualisation.
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