I Cloned Myself With Gemini's AI Avatar Tool. The Result Was Unnervingly Me

A user generates AI video clips using a digital avatar created from their likeness in the Google Gemini app. A short scene shows the avatar singing a birthday song to a dinosaur, with a cupcake and candle appearing and the creature reacting with contentment. The avatar feature is powered by Google’s Omni video model and is available only to subscribers. The user pays for an AI Pro plan and hits usage limits that reset every five hours after generating two ten-second clips. The generated content can include awkward or nonsensical moments, but the avatar’s facial resemblance is noticeable, including mouth movement. Setup requires a brief face capture process with the phone camera and reading two-digit numbers, followed by head movements.

"It's a beautiful, balmy afternoon at Dolores Park in San Francisco, and I'm singing a birthday song to a prehistoric dinosaur. A cupcake with a pink candle magically appears in my empty hand as I finish my serenade. When I blow out the flame, a calm look of contentment washes over the CGI-esque creature."

"While the man in this AI video looks and sounds just like me, the clip was actually generated using one of the new features available in Google's Gemini app: avatars. These digital recreations are similar to the core features of OpenAI's now-defunct Sora app. It's a digital clone of you that can be inserted into AI videos. Avatars are powered by the company's new Omni video model, and the feature is only available to subscribers."

"I pay $20 a month for Google's AI Pro plan and quickly maxed out Gemini's usage limits, which reset every 5 hours. I simply asked a few questions and generated two 10-second clips featuring my avatar, before I was told to wait until later. My first two glimpses of what Omni can do with my likeness were of me singing to a dino in San Francisco and surfing under the Golden Gate Bridge."

"It took me about five minutes to set up my avatar through the Gemini app. The process involved sitting in a well-lit room with my phone's camera pointed at my face and reading a string of two-digit numbers. Then I slowly looked to the right and swivelled my head to the left, and it was all over. Reece 2.0 was born and ready to be my deepfake star."

Read at WIRED