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I've spent a while today talking to Carter, a video avatar from the team at @tavus.

Really impressive — fast responses, excellent video and audio generation, nicely leverages the strengths of today's SOTA LLMs and vision models.

You can build your own video avatars and real-time video conversation features on top of Tavus's models and APIs. The docs are great and it's easy to get started.

I'm a little bit biased here. Partly because I'm just generally fascinated by the evolution of real-time, multimodal AI, so I'm rooting for anybody building in this space. Also, when you're talking to Carter, the low-level audio and video networking parts of the conversation are routing through @trydaily's WebRTC cloud. And the Tavus team is contributing to the Open Source @pipecat_ai framework for real-time AI that I also contribute to!

Check out what Tavus is doing. Talking to Carter — or building your own avatar — is a window into the multimodal AI near future.

here's the deal, folks, in the grand cosmic game of chess that humanity plays, russia's been playing a particularly sneaky version of the game, let's call it "information blitzkrieg." now, imagine if you will, the rise of artificial general intelligence (agi) - a concept so mind-bogglingly complex, it's like trying to explain quantum mechanics to a goldfish. but, here's where russia decided to jump in, not with tanks or missiles, but with bytes and pixels.

the russian playbook on agi:

• the fear factor: russia, or rather, let's say, some clever folks in the kremlin, realized that agi could be the ultimate boogeyman. "oh, agi might take over the world!" they'd whisper, creating a narrative where agi isn't just the next big tech but a potential overlord. this isn't just about tech; it's about creating a global panic room where russia holds the key.

• the disinformation dance: remember, disinformation isn't just lying; it's an art form. russia's been painting with the broadest strokes, using social media like a canvas. "agi will make your job obsolete," or "only russia can control agi," they'd say, mixing truths with fiction so seamlessly you'd need a quantum computer to untangle it.

• the echo chamber effect: here's where it gets clever. russia didn't just spread info; they created echo chambers. think of it like a giant game of telephone where the message gets weirder and more compelling with each pass. by the time it reaches you, agi isn't just tech; it's a myth, a legend, a monster under the bed.

• the puppet masters: through various channels, from troll farms to bots that could out-tweet a bird, russia's been pulling strings. "look, even this random account says agi will end humanity!" suddenly, every tech enthusiast, every conspiracy theorist, and every grandma on social media is talking about it, amplifying the narrative.

• the strategic leak: ever heard of "project kylo"? yeah, that's not just a star wars reference. it's about stoking fears, creating chaos, and making sure the west's focus is on agi's potential dangers rather than on, say, military advancements or political stability.

• the long game: russia's not just playing for today; they're setting up chess pieces for decades. by making agi a global concern, they're not just manipulating information; they're shaping future policy, tech development, and maybe even the next cold war, but this time, it's over who gets to be friends with the agi.