Kioku Osen-ten Official Teaser PV Released: Voice Actor Yuki Kaji and AI Voice Character 'Bon Soyogi' Appointed as Audio Guides
The experiential exhibition Kioku Osen-ten released its official teaser PV and announced voice actor Yuki Kaji as an audio guide navigator. Bon Soyogi, an AI voice character based on Kaji's voice from the Soyogi Fractal project, will handle the English guide and special performance audio. The pairing connects the exhibition's themes of memory, reality, and uncertainty with an AI character voice experience.
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Using both the human voice and its AI counterpart fits the exhibition's theme of unstable memory. Bon Soyogi is not just explaining the works here; the AI voice itself becomes part of the atmosphere.
AI VTuber 'Yumeminana's 3D Live Overturns Industry Norms: Exploring the AI Tool-Driven Production Method
Real Sound reports on KLab AI VTuber Yumeminana's July 7 3D live, which was produced largely by one staff member using custom AI-assisted tools. Lip sync, camera work and lighting were semi-automated, while Unity shaders and production tools were built with help from Claude and Copilot. The project also introduced an assist-play format for game streaming, showing how AI VTuber operations can combine production efficiency with viewer-focused entertainment.
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What stands out is that the team turned a 3D live into an operating environment a small crew can actually run. For AI VTubers, sustainable staging and direction are part of the character, not just backstage tooling.
AI InfluencerBollywood HungamaEnglishJuly 17, 2026
Jacqueline Fernandez launches AI avatar to share personal stories, thoughts and book recommendations
Bollywood Hungama reported that Jacqueline Fernandez launched her official AI avatar. The avatar is intended to share personal stories, thoughts, and book recommendations, including use around her book club and fan engagement. It is a celebrity-led example of AI avatars being used as ongoing digital touchpoints rather than one-off promotional assets.
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A celebrity AI avatar recommending books feels more intimate than a standard promotional post. The delicate part is how fans read it: as the person, an extension of the person, or a separate character.
In2ition AI Brings Its Always-On Intelligence Layer to Every Video Meeting with Iris Listen
In2ition AI announced Iris Listen on July 17, 2026 as an always-on AI companion for video meetings. It is designed to listen in real time, understand meeting context, and assist participants as an intelligence layer during the conversation. For AI character use cases, it points toward assistants that feel present in shared workspaces rather than only producing summaries afterward.
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Meeting AI is moving from post-call summaries toward a presence that stays in the room. The hard part will be knowing when to speak without disturbing the flow.
Nubia AI Pet Robot iMoochi Scheduled for Release on July 17, Focused on Emotional Companionship and Life-Like Interaction
Nubia announced that its AI pet robot iMoochi will go on sale at 10:00 AM on July 17 through ZTE Mall and other platforms. The fluffy companion uses touch and gravity sensors to respond with head movements, tail wagging and sounds, and is described as developing personality and life rhythm over time. Its companion app supports device management, diaries and emotional status checks, positioning iMoochi as a physical AI companion for emotional support.
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The choice to avoid humanlike speech and use a custom “iMoochi language” is the detail I keep noticing. It leans into cuteness while sidestepping some uncanny discomfort, which may be crucial for a pet-like AI body.
AI Avatar for SaaS Onboarding: Interactive Product Tours That Replace Static Walkthroughs
Mimic Minds presents conversational AI avatars as a replacement for static SaaS onboarding walkthroughs, tooltips, and prerecorded videos. The article frames them as virtual guides that respond to user intent and context to shorten time to value. It combines digital human production, product knowledge integration, and guardrails, with potential use across areas such as CRM, finance, and healthcare.
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For onboarding avatars, friendliness is not enough. What matters is whether the guide can stop, clarify, and stay within guardrails exactly when the user gets stuck.
Samsung Vision AI Companion: Bringing Conversational AI to Households Worldwide
Samsung is rolling out Vision AI Companion for its 2026 TVs, built around an upgraded Bixby and multiple LLMs including Perplexity and Gemini. Users can access conversational Q&A, customized recommendations, task management, and visual responses through the remote and voice interaction. The product is designed for a shared household screen and supports 10 languages.
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An AI companion on a TV is not just a personal assistant; it appears in front of the whole household. The hard part is deciding whose context it should use on a shared screen.
Using both the human voice and its AI counterpart fits the exhibition's theme of unstable memory. Bon Soyogi is not just explaining the works here; the AI voice itself becomes part of the atmosphere.