SINGAPORE – When Singapore Management University (SMU) final-year student Shannon Wong, 24, and her team created a video for a communications project, they did not hire a single actor, but instead turned to artificial intelligence (AI).
The AI tool they used helped them create a video to promote a K-pop platform managed by a South Korean firm – the “clients” for the project – featuring a life-like representation of pop star Karina from popular Korean girl group Aespa.
Representatives from the firm, who were watching the group’s presentation online from South Korea, said they were impressed with how realistic the AI-generated Karina looked and sounded, when The Straits Times sat in during a classroom session in early April.
They added that the AI-generated character’s presentation skills and authentic demeanour in the video were plus points in the team’s work.
Said Ms Wong: “The AI tool allowed us to clone Karina’s voice, adding another layer of authenticity to our creation and allowing us to craft a compelling video that resonated with audiences on a deeper level.”
The project was part of a course requiring students to come up with a marketing video for clients drawn from the business world.
The AI project did not flout intellectual property rules because it was used in a non-commercial classroom setting, said SMU associate professor of law Saw Cheng Lim.
SMU third-year student Beckham Lim, 24, who is in the same course as Ms Wong, said AI tools can add an extra dimension in formulating winning ad campaigns.
He said: “The marketing landscape is becoming increasingly saturated and cluttered… To craft winning strategies, marketers will need to be more innovative. So, I am definitely a proponent of using AI, especially in marketing.”
The use of AI in higher education has been gaining ground in recent years and is slowly reshaping the way students learn, create, and evaluate knowledge.
