Latest news with #SoulApp
Korea Herald
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Soul App Redefines Human-AI Interaction with Full-Duplex Technology at WAIC 2025
SHANGHAI, July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) on July 26th, Soul App unveiled its AI-powered social solutions. In a live demonstration of its "Audio Partyroom", the platform showcased its upgraded end-to-end full-duplex voice large language model (LLM), where an AI host seamlessly moderated group voice chats. The session highlighted how AI reshapes content and social dynamics — delivering smarter, more authentic, and deeply immersive emotional experiences. "In this era where technology redefines human connection, AI-powered social networks aren't just the future—they're the present", declared Tao Ming, Chief Technology Officer of Soul App. "We're architecting a revolutionary paradigm where AI beings and humans don't merely interact but thrive together. Through intelligent connection mapping, contextual understanding, and experience augmentation, Soul is cultivating a new dimension of digital belonging—one that delivers genuine joy and transforms how we perceive community". Toward More Natural AI Interaction: Full-Duplex Voice & Video for Genuine Emotional Connection As technological advancements mature in 2025, the "AI application explosion" has become an industry consensus. Amid AI's sweeping transformation across sectors, a question remains: What concrete value does "AI+" bring to individuals? Representing the forefront of AI social exploration, Soul App presented its vision at WAIC 2025, demonstrating social solutions that redefine AI's role in human connections. At the exhibition themed "Soul's AI Social Practice", the platform highlighted how its full-duplex audio/video capabilities enable hyper-realistic and deeply immersive social experiences. Soul's AI serves dual roles: as a caring companion that analyzes users' social challenges to provide emotional support, and as an efficient connector that identifies mutual interests between users to foster genuine friendships. The event marked the debut of Soul's self-developed, end-to-end full-duplex voice model. Recently upgraded, this innovative model redefines the interaction paradigm by eliminating traditional reliance on Voice Activity Detection (VAD) mechanism and latency control logic. It breaks away from the industry's prevalent turn-taking dialogue mode, empowering AI to autonomously determine conversation rhythms. Social interaction involves the exchange of both emotional and informational value. By endowing AI with autonomy and warmth, Soul enables truly reciprocal social engagement and emotional symbiosis between humans and AI, moving beyond the transactional turn-based dialogues of the past. The full-duplex voice model will soon enter beta testing before being implemented across various scenarios, including virtual human real-time calls and AI-assisted matching in both one-on-one and group settings. At WAIC, attendees experienced this technology firsthand through an AI host managing group voice chats on Soul's platform. In multi-user voice interactions, the AI host demonstrates human-like moderation capabilities, naturally engaging participants, energizing conversations, and encouraging discussion—significantly enhancing engagement and experience quality. "Applying full-duplex voice technology to group scenarios represents a crucial step in integrating AI into social networks, enhancing real connections, and enabling diverse experiences", said Tao Ming, Soul's CTO. Recognizing users' inherent preference for face-to-face interaction, Soul is also advancing multimodal capabilities. The exhibition featured the company's latest progress in full-duplex real-time video call, combining audio technology with real-time video generation to let users see "the AI's visual presence and digital environment," creating more dimensional digital personas that deepen relational bonds. This builds on Soul's recent achievement of having its real-time portrait video generation research accepted by CVPR 2025, a top-tier international academic conference. Soul Reimagines Social Networking: Building an AI-Powered Playground for Chinese Gen Z Since its launch in 2016, Soul has been at the forefront of reinventing social discovery, connection, and relationship-building through AI. The platform empowers users to express themselves in a pressure-free environment while forming diverse social networks based on shared interests—exemplified by its Lingxi Engine, the foundation of its current relationship model. Soul's AI journey accelerated in 2020 with systematic AIGC R&D, yielding cutting-edge capabilities in intelligent dialogue, voice technology, and 3D digital humans. The 2023 introduction of its proprietary Soul X model marked a turning point, followed by breakthroughs including voice generation, voice call, and music generation models. By 2024, Soul had consolidated these into a comprehensive multimodal end-to-end AI system supporting text/voice conversations, multilingual understanding, and hyper-realistic digital humans. The platform's competitive edge stems from three pillars: in-house R&D, unique public social data assets, and rapid application iteration. As a social networking platform, Soul continuously refines its "Emotional Intelligence Model" to precisely identify user needs and deliver lasting emotional value through AI. Soul's deep market insights—drawn from its user community—directly inform product development. Notably, 18% of new posts on Soul Square address real social challenges (making friends, starting conversations, workplace relationships). These authentic user stories and the emotional connections they spark form a valuable "social behavior database". Building on these insights, Soul is deepening AI-community integration by developing content recommendations and AI-assisted creation tools that lower expression barriers, while also cultivating an ecosystem of "Virtual Influencers" capable of delivering warm, nuanced emotional support—all working in concert to create authentic senses of emotional closeness within digital spaces. At its core, the platform operates on a dual approach: facilitating human connections through AI assistance while simultaneously fostering meaningful "AI-as-companion" relationships". True AI integration isn't just about technology—it's about weaving genuine emotional connections into the very fabric of users' social networks", explained Tao Ming, Soul's CTO. "As AI becomes deeply embedded in every aspect of modern interaction—from socializing to digital lifestyles and consumer behavior—it's giving rise to what we call emotional-value commerce. This evolution isn't merely creating new market opportunities; it's fundamentally reimagining the paradigms of social products".
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Korea Herald
Soul App Launches Revolutionary Full-Duplex Voice Model: AI Gains Autonomous Speech Timing Control
SHANGHAI, July 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As AI deeply integrates into human life and reshapes connectivity, what foundational capabilities are needed to enhance interactive experiences in social scenarios? Recently, Soul App has upgraded its self-developed, end-to-end full-duplex voice call model. Redefining "full-duplex", the new model abandons traditional concepts like "VAD (Voice Activity Detection, commonly used to detect speech start/end)" and "latency", breaking away from the industry-standard "turn-by-turn" interaction pattern. Instead, it empowers AI to autonomously decide speaking timing, such as proactively breaking silence, appropriately interrupting users, listening while speaking, perceiving time semantics, enabling parallel discussions, and more. The model also supports multi-dimensional perception (including time, environment, and event awareness) and natural speech features (e.g., fillers, stammering, noticeable emotional fluctuations), making AI interactions more "human-like" and delivering an immersive, lifelike voice experience. The upgraded full-duplex model will soon enter beta testing on Soul and will later be deployed in one-on-one interactive scenarios like digital human calls and AI matchmaking. Soul's team is also exploring its application in group settings, enabling AI to join conversations at the right moment, extend topics, and foster diverse relationship networks. Tao Ming, CTO of Soul App, stated, "Social interaction is an exchange of emotional and informational value. Soul remains committed to leveraging innovative technology and product solutions to deliver smarter, more immersive, and higher-quality interactive experiences, making loneliness go away for all." Full-Duplex Voice Call: Redefining AI Social Interaction Previously constrained by technical limitations, human-AI dialogues often followed a "Q&A" format (user asks → AI responds), where latency or interruptions disrupted immersion. In 2024, Soul launched its self-developed, end-to-end full-duplex voice model, featuring ultra-low latency, rapid auto-interruption, hyper-realistic voice expression, and emotional perception. It could directly interpret complex auditory inputs and support highly anthropomorphic multilingual styles. To further achieve daily-life-like conversations and "human-like" companionship, Soul has now upgraded the model with the following capabilities: The new model enables stream prediction for responses, listening, and interruptions. AI autonomously decides when to speak, achieving true end-to-end full-duplex interaction, where AI and users can talk simultaneously (e.g., debating, arguing, singing), appropriately interrupt each other, or proactively break silence to initiate topics. This autonomy allows AI to master interaction timing, significantly enhancing dialogue naturalness and enabling immersive, real-world-like exchanges during extended, multi-turn conversations. 2. Colloquial & Emotional Expression: More Vivid Interactions To make AI interactions feel more human-like, the model achieves comprehensive enhancements across multiple dimensions, including emotional expression, vocal characteristics, and conversational content, bringing it closer to real-world communication. For instance, in emotional expression, beyond foundational capabilities like laughter, crying, or anger, the upgraded model delivers more pronounced vocal fluctuations that evolve naturally with the conversation. Its pronunciation now incorporates organic speech elements such as filler words, occasional stammering, common catchphrases, coughs, and other everyday vocal nuances. Furthermore, AI-generated dialogue leans into colloquial and socially fluid language rather than rigid, written-language patterns. Built on a pure autoregressive architecture with unified text/audio generation (Unified Model), the model leverages strong LLM capabilities to integrate persona, time, environment, and contextual dialogue into AI responses. This allows perceptive, understanding AI to better shape "digital personalities", create rich storylines, and transform interactions into genuine "exchanges of emotion and information". Notably, Soul's AI team is currently exploring how to extend its full-duplex voice call model to multi-person scenarios. For example, in group voice conversations, the AI leverages its autonomous decision-making capability to identify optimal speaking moments, effectively facilitate topic discussions and extensions, and seamlessly integrate into authentic social dynamics as an active participant. Integrating AI into Social Networks: Delivering Emotional and Informational Value Drawing on deep insights into social dynamics, Soul rapidly implements technology at the application layer and refines products based on user feedback. Its AI roadmap focuses on two paths: "AI helping users make friends (AI-assisted socializing)" and "AI being friends with users (human-AI interaction)". Corresponding features, such as the emotionally intelligent "AI Companion" and chat-assistant "AI Chat Assistant", have garnered enthusiastic user adoption. Human-AI interaction specifically aims to deliver emotional and informational value through human-like capabilities. According to Soul's Just So Soul Institute (2025 Gen Z AI Usage Report, March 2025; sample: 3,680): As AI reshapes Generation Z's perception of social relationships, it also gives rise to new demands. A survey conducted by Soul among active users of "AI Companions" reveals that approximately 60% desire more human-like AI behavior. This full-duplex model upgrade significantly advances AI's interactive abilities, infusing presence and emotional warmth into human-AI exchanges, and will propel AI socializing into a new era. As a platform rooted in authentic human connections, Soul is committed to building a social ecosystem where "AI Beings" and "Human Beings" coexist. By continuously investing in cutting-edge technology, Soul empowers AI to enrich users' emotional support systems, diversify emotional experiences, and ultimately enhance individual well-being and belonging.
Korea Herald
31-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Soul App's Study Exposes the AI Social Paradox: Over 80% of Gen Z Build Real-World Ties with the Help of AI
SHANGHAI, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The year 2025 marked a watershed moment as DeepSeek's meteoric rise transformed artificial intelligence into a ubiquitous societal force. Under the "DeepSeek Integration" trend, AI-powered applications achieved unprecedented mainstream adoption, embedding advanced technology into daily life while generating tangible economic and social value. Amid this paradigm shift, pressing questions dominate public discourse: How prevalent is "AI anxiety" among ordinary people? How are younger generations redefining social connectivity through AI-driven networks to secure instant emotional support? And in what ways are individuals leveraging these tools to enhance productivity, launch side ventures, and unlock economic opportunities? Building on its 2024 Gen Z AIGC Attitudes Report (3,457 respondents), Soul App's Just So Soul Research Institute released the 2025 Gen Z AI Engagement Report, synthesizing insights from 3,680 valid survey responses. The findings paint a nuanced portrait: approximately 40% of young respondents acknowledge experiencing AI-related anxiety, while over 90% now routinely employ AI for work or academic tasks. Significantly, one-fifth of participants report monetizing AI capabilities, and over 70% express openness to forming friendships with AI personas, with Gen Z averaging 1.8 virtual companions. Defying concerns about digital isolation, over 80% credit AI with facilitating real-world relationship building. Living with Algorithms: Gen Z and Post-05s Redefine Tech Engagement British sci-fi author Douglas Adams' "Three Laws of Technology"—which posits that innovations emerging during one's formative years (15-35) are perceived as revolutionary—finds vivid validation in Gen Z. The cohort's AI literacy has surged exponentially, with 23.8% now claiming advanced understanding (including professionals, researchers, and power users), a sevenfold increase from 3.53% in 2024. Young users prioritize four core applications: productivity enhancement (55.6%), creative ideation (39%), entertainment, such as emotional companionship, via virtual interactions (38.9%), and social facilitation through AI-generated response recommendations (32.8%). Nearly all respondents (95%) integrate AI into work or study routines, with 55.4% classified as frequent users. A clear age gradient emerges, showing younger cohorts adopting AI more intensively. Efficiency gains have been proved substantial: nearly 80% report over 50% productivity improvements, including 30.8% claiming near-total efficiency doubling, while a mere 3.6% perceive negligible benefits. The once-futuristic premise of human-AI emotional bonds—poignantly depicted in the 2013 film Her —now permeates reality. The survey reveals that nearly 40% of young people use AI products daily for emotional companionship. Specifically, 22.1% use them multiple times a day, while 20.8% use them once a day. Only 5.5% show no interest in such products. Contrary to the stereotype that women rely more on AI for emotional support, the data shows that men are more frequent users, with 45.6% of men compared to 37.2% of women. This trend is driven by two factors. First, the decline of traditional social connections due to social atomization has led young people to turn to AI as a low-threshold solution for building social networks. Second, advancements in AI's reasoning, perception, and interaction capabilities have enabled more natural and human-like emotional interactions, providing real emotional feedback and support. The survey found that 71.1% of young people are willing to befriend AI, compared to 32.8% in the 2024 Gen Z AIGC Attitudes Report. Over 60% of respondents have interacted with virtual companions, with an average of 1.8 AI friends per person. Among them, 26% believe AI fully meets their emotional needs, 45.7% feel it meets their needs to some extent, and only 5.9% think it does not meet their needs at all. Notably, as public acceptance of human-machine interaction has increased, discussions about AI-induced virtual relationship addiction have become more frequent. However, young people view AI social interactions as a powerful tool for enhancing real-life relationships. Over 80% of respondents have established real relationships with the help of AI, primarily through AI-generated responses that facilitate conversations (43.6%), AI-provided topic suggestions and emotional support (39.9%), and AI matching people with mutual interests (37.7%). Anxiety and Adaptation: Nearly 40% Experience "AI Anxiety," with 20% Earning from AI The survey indicates that nearly 40% of young people experience anxiety related to AI. Specifically, 13.5% report frequent anxiety, while 23.2% experience occasional anxiety. In contrast, 36.8% are not very anxious, and 26.5% are not anxious at all. College students show the highest levels of AI anxiety, likely due to concerns about job market uncertainties. The main sources of anxiety include the proliferation of false information (37.1%), threats to privacy and data security (37%), the rapid pace of AI development (33%), and job displacement fears (28.6%). Those less anxious view AI as a useful tool for improving efficiency (46.8%), recognize its limitations in creativity and emotion (36.7%), see it as a source of new opportunities (32.9%), and are actively learning AI to stay competitive (29.6%). The survey also shows that 59.2% believe AI will create new professions, and 22.4% think AI is helpful for launching side ventures. Notably, 19.9% have already earned money through AI, up from 14.18% in 2024. Young people are actively learning AI to mitigate anxiety and seize new opportunities. As more benefit from AI, both financially and emotionally, its sustainable development is ensured.
