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I think this feels very manipulative. I don't really buy that the authors have general ambitions and aren't just interested in making bank in sales, because tha

I think this feels very manipulative. I don't really buy that the authors have general ambitions and aren't just interested in making bank in sales, because that's exactly what they say they're going to do in the video. I see a couple notes about video game characters talking to you directly... This tech is not the reason that problem is difficult but whatever. The thing the urks me about this is not so much the ML, but... who actually wants personalized video ads? I think it is very uncomfortable for people you don't know to say your name like they know a lot about you. This would be be awful to me even it were paid actors, costs be damned. This gives the privacy problem a human face and, imo, makes it much more discomforting. What kind of marketing context makes it feel appropriate to send a personalized video message that will be warmly received but also cost prohibitive to actually make one? Not familiar with Loom or Vidyard, but really this whole premise seems really creepy, neural nets or otherwise. It smells like the the ads that proclaim HOT SINGLES WANT TO CHAT TO BOYS IN {your age range} in {your town}.

hassaanr 5y ago
Totally understand your viewpoint. The reality is though that sales is really just one use case and definitely not my (our) favorite. Our focus is more on product experiences and that's where most of our efforts are going towards now. The video doesn't have to be personalized to your name or contextual information about you specifically, although that is the most exciting prospect for most people. It could be a topic you're interested in being visualized. We're working with an e-learning company for example to help instructors create their courses more easily in their own voice. To me that's a more exciting use case. If you're interested to learn more about how our roadmap is focusing on use cases such as this feel free to reach out.
kyletns 5y ago
I have received video pitches like this, as cold emails in my inbox, from people I don't know, with a thumbnail to a video that I just had to click to see wtf was going on. The guy in the video said my name and where I work while giving his pitch for some random product irrelevant to my life or my work. It was completely unnerving and creepy af. The fact that this startup wants to automate this creepy invasive behavior tells me that the founders need to do some serious soul-searching about why they want to create the world they're working to create.
- spoonjim 5y ago
  Why? $$$.

hassaanr 5y ago

Totally understand your viewpoint. The reality is though that sales is really just one use case and definitely not my (our) favorite. Our focus is more on product experiences and that's where most of our efforts are going towards now. The video doesn't have to be personalized to your name or contextual information about you specifically, although that is the most exciting prospect for most people. It could be a topic you're interested in being visualized. We're working with an e-learning company for example to help instructors create their courses more easily in their own voice. To me that's a more exciting use case. If you're interested to learn more about how our roadmap is focusing on use cases such as this feel free to reach out.

kyletns 5y ago

I have received video pitches like this, as cold emails in my inbox, from people I don't know, with a thumbnail to a video that I just had to click to see wtf was going on. The guy in the video said my name and where I work while giving his pitch for some random product irrelevant to my life or my work. It was completely unnerving and creepy af. The fact that this startup wants to automate this creepy invasive behavior tells me that the founders need to do some serious soul-searching about why they want to create the world they're working to create.

spoonjim 5y ago
Why? $$$.