[AI Revolution](48) Diovistudio Facilitates Reunion Between Fallen Pilot and Mother

AI Virtual Human Content Specialist Diov Studio
Virtual Human of Late Major Park Incheol Created to Arrange Meeting with Mother
Actress Youn Yuh-jung's 20s Appearance Restored for Advertisement Use

O Je-wook, CEO of Diov Studio

"Mom, I missed you." At her son's bright smile, the mother burst into tears. "Is Incheol doing well?" "I'm doing fine. I even met Dad."

This is a conversation between the late Major Park Incheol and his mother Lee Junsin, revealed in a recent documentary by Defense TV. Major Park was a fighter pilot who tragically died in an accident in July 2007 at the age of 27. He was also the son of the late Major Park Myeongryeol, an F-4E Phantom fighter pilot who died in 1984. The documentary showed a virtual human modeled after Major Park using artificial intelligence (AI) deepfake technology having a conversation with Ms. Lee, touching the public deeply.

The AI startup Dio Studio made this mother-son reunion possible after 16 years. Founded in 2020, Dio Studio specializes in AI virtual human content. They provide virtual human production services that synthesize virtual faces onto real video footage. Dio Studio also gained attention for restoring the faces of the late Ulala Session member Lim Yuntaek and the late singer Yoo Jaeha. CEO Oh Jeuk of Dio Studio explained, "When restoring the faces of Major Park and Lim, unlike typical deepfake, we applied our unique face editing technology that draws virtual faces in the desired form," adding, "In Major Park’s case, the production took about a month."

In the documentary "That Day's Military Story - Meeting the Late Major Park In-cheol" on Defense TV, a scene where a mother and son reunite. (Photo by Ministry of National Defense)

Diov Studio restored actress Youn Yuh-jung's appearance in her 20s using artificial intelligence (AI) technology in a KB Life Insurance commercial. (Photo by YouTube)

The area where virtual humans created by Dio Studio are most actively used is corporate advertising and marketing. In January, KB Life Insurance attracted significant attention by featuring actress Youn Yuh-jung’s 20s appearance in an advertisement. To achieve this, Dio Studio utilized AI deep learning and de-aging technology. De-aging refers to effects or techniques that make someone appear younger. Dio Studio first scanned the speech and expressions from data of Youn Yuh-jung in her 20s. Then, they applied the 20s version of Youn’s face and voice, created with de-aging technology, onto footage of a body double playing Youn’s role using deep learning technology. CEO Oh said, "I heard that actress Youn was very satisfied when she saw her 20s self at the ad preview," adding, "The advertisement was well received and widely talked about, creating a significant ripple effect."

Virtual human Rui. (Photo by YouTube)

'Louis' is the most famous virtual human created by Dio Studio. Louis, seen through the monitor, is designed so precisely that it is impossible to tell whether he is a real person or computer graphics. Louis serves as a promotional ambassador for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, introducing K-pop and domestic tourist spots. He also works as a Korean language instructor for the startup 'Korean at Your Door,' which teaches Korean in China. Louis is active as an influencer through the YouTube channel 'Louiscovery,' which has 120,000 subscribers. Videos of Louis covering K-pop and pop songs are very popular among overseas netizens. CEO Oh said, "An era will come when humans and virtual humans cannot be distinguished and do not need to be distinguished," adding, "A world where we live harmoniously with AI is not far off."

Virtual humans are benefiting humans by reducing corporate labor costs in industrial fields and producing diverse cultural content. However, there are side effects. As virtual human production technology becomes more sophisticated, various issues such as deepfake adult content and copyright problems have also emerged. CEO Oh emphasized that virtual human manufacturing companies, the government, and the public must work together to prepare against misuse of virtual humans. He said, "We have received many inquiries about pornography and adult advertisements, but we have rejected them all," adding, "We donate our talents to finding missing children and preventing deepfake crimes to help ensure virtual human technology is used properly." He continued, "Digital transformation of humanity is progressing faster than ever, so active government involvement is more necessary," and added, "The public must also stay away from illegal services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.