Yesterday we previewed Griffin, a Human Interaction Model capable of seeing, hearing, sounding, and looking like a human does. There have been a lot of questions, so I wanted to take a moment to share our thoughts. By way of introduction: Tavus is a research lab focused on enabling machines to meet us where we are, and to understand the nuances of how we communicate beyond words. Griffin, our latest model, isn’t publicly available yet. Yesterday’s announcement was a limited research preview to demonstrate what the model is capable of. With AI progressing so quickly, we prefer to share breakthroughs openly and in real-time as we work on a safe public release. Face-to-face is how we evolutionarily communicate, it carries the most meaning and intent, and we want computers to be able to help with work that benefits from that emotional understanding, expression, and immersion. Some examples of the kinds of use cases we care deeply about: - A tutor that can build understanding of how a student learns, see exactly when there is confusion or disengagement, and adapt the lesson to fit them. - A health expert that can answer any questions about your upcoming appointment or prescription, at the pace you want, at any time you need, even on a weekend. - A language coach that you can practice speaking with, that can correct your movement and pronunciation, and help build confidence to have real conversations - Or the perfect assistant for everyone, that understands intent, knows how you work and remembers what matters. We’re working with partners on safeguards and systems for disclosure, as well as inviting discussions with officials around wider regulation and safe use. People will always know they’re interacting with AI, while providing an interface that removes the need to ‘speak computer’. We believe in a future where computers understand us well enough to make technology more accessible, more useful, and make us more capable as humans. That is the world we want to build, and we understand the responsibility to do so safely.

The whole point of building Tavus has been simple: talking to a machine should feel as natural as talking to a friend or coworker. It’s hard to describe all the tiny nuances that make a conversation feel human. The little expressions. Moving around in your chair. Knowing when to speak and when to listen. The dance of it all. Griffin is by far the closest anyone has come to a model that can capture those nuances. The first time I saw it being used, I had no idea I was watching our model rather than just a normal video call. I’m so incredibly proud of this team and what they’ve built.

Last week Apple previewed the future of Siri. In 1987 though, Apple showcased a far more advanced AI assistant that would change how we use our computers entirely. It could see you, control your computer, and even looked and sounded human. They called it Knowledge Navigator. For nearly 40 years it remained science fiction. This past week at @tavus we finally brought it to life with the help from our friends at @cerebras. Meet Dom: