Metaphysic uses AI to create "synthetic media experiences," or digital video representations of people that don't require human actors.
They're the creative geniuses behind the Tom Cruise deepfakes that went viral on TikTok. And they help marketers create hyper-realistic, personalized, and immersive content for their audiences.
We spoke with Tom Graham, cofounder and CEO at Metaphysic, to learn more about this AI-powered marketing solution.
In a single sentence or statement, describe Metaphysic.
We develop AI to create hyperreal synthetic experiences for entertainment, marketing, and the metaverse.
How does Metaphysic use artificial intelligence in its products?
We utilize a combination of deep learning techniques including natural language processing (NLP), and computer vision to create dynamic tools for generating a range of different forms of synthetic media experiences—from face-swapping and synthetic de-aging to avatars and voice synthesis.
What are the primary marketing use cases for your AI-powered solutions?
Metaphysic's tools present marketers and advertisers with new powerful opportunities to create hyper-realistic, personalized, and immersive content for consumers and audiences. This could be synthetically recreating busy celebrities in adverts, personalizing content and experiences for audiences, or generating avatars of key figures for marketing materials.
What makes your AI-powered solution smarter than traditional approaches and products?
Currently, premium VFX is too expensive and time-consuming for all but the biggest brands and Hollywood studios. Moreover, these solutions often don't produce results that are compelling to discerning viewers and require talent to spend their precious time in awkward and uncomfortable shoots.
Metaphysic provides an AI solution that makes production software for generating hyper-realistic synthetic media more accessible and scalable. Using AI significantly reduces the time and cost traditionally associated with generating a high quality result and means talent can simply license their image without needing in-person performance.
From lip syncing different languages in adverts to avoid costly regional reshoots to generating custom messages from your customers' favorite celebrity, Metaphysic's synthetic media AI make existing processes more efficient and accessible, while opening up a whole new world of creative possibilities.
Are there any minimum requirements for marketers to get value out of your AI-powered technology? (e.g. data, list size, etc.)
Recognizing the importance of a good dataset for the AI to generate good results (ideally created via a one off shoot with the subject) and ensuring consent is obtained from all parties being synthesized is crucial.
Who are your ideal customers in terms of company size and industries?
We work with companies across a wide range of industries, all of whom are interested in harnessing the power of synthetic media for a variety of campaigns and projects, from large international conglomerates and the world's biggest sports teams to leading advertising firms and media organizations.
What do you see as the limitations of AI as it exists today?
There are a number of solutions on the market that claim to have artificial intelligence or machine learning at their core, but they don't. It is creating confusion and mistrust in the marketplace when business leaders realize that the solutions they purchased can't deliver on their promise.
What do you see as the future potential of AI in marketing?
AI is already empowering marketing leaders to deliver the business growth their C-suite peers expect. One of the biggest challenges of marketers is estimating the value of campaign content before the campaign goes live. AI enables CMOs to quantify the value of campaigns with mathematical certainty before they even run.
Visionary leaders are already figuring out how to use AI to augment and amplify the work that frees up human creatives do their best creative work and deliver revenue impact and cost savings that impact the bottom line.
Any other thoughts on AI in marketing, or advice for marketers who are just getting started with AI?
You can easily realize the value of AI through a test. Commit your team and your resources to the test and see it through, and you will see the great value it can deliver. Then rinse and repeat with your success.