Digital humans are designed to feed the growing appetite of deep-learning algorithms. Firms like Datagen offer a compelling alternative to the expensive and time-consuming process of gathering real-world data. To generate its synthetic humans, Datagen first scans actual humans. It partners with vendors who pay people to step inside giant full-body scanners that capture every detail from their irises to their skin texture to the curvature of their fingers. The startup then takes the raw data and pumps it through a series of algorithms, which develop 3D representations of a person’s body, face, eyes, and hands.
The company, which is based in Israel, says it’s already working with four major US tech giants, though it won’t disclose which ones on the record. Other companies generate data to be used in finance, insurance, and health care. There are about as many synthetic-data companies as there are types of data. Once viewed as less desirable than real data, synthetic data is now seen by some as a panacea. Real data is messy and riddled with bias. New data privacy regulations make it hard to collect. By contrast, synthetic data is pristine and can be used to build more diverse data sets.
More information:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/11/1026135/ai-synthetic-data/