Digital Human Casting Business Launches! ~Rika Adachi Becomes a Digital Human!~

In recent years, with the dramatic advancement of generative AI technology, efforts toward the practical application of " digital humans "—which move freely with human-like appearances—are progressing across various industries.

Japan's entertainment industry is no exception. Momentum is building for creating digital humans of celebrities and talent as a means to overcome the challenges and limitations of traditional talent casting.

Major talent agency Horipro, in collaboration with Dentsu Inc., produced a digital human modeled after Rika Adachi as the first initiative in their joint casting venture.

Aaron Zhou from Dentsu Inc. BX Creative Center, who oversaw this project, explains the background and details of the initiative. We also heard from talent/actress Rika Adachi, who participated in this new challenge.

The Potential of Digital Humans: Transcending the Limits of Traditional Talent Casting

Talent agencies and production companies represent numerous individuals brimming with unique personalities and talents, contributing to the business growth of companies and organizations across various fields, including advertising. The casting business, which selects the optimal talent to meet the diverse needs of companies and society, has consistently delivered value that benefits all three parties—advertisers, talent agencies, and consumers—by fully leveraging information, experience, networks, and technology.

In a sense, Japan's talent casting industry has reached a high level of maturity. With its extensive track record, know-how, and recent data utilization, it can achieve casting with a certain degree of precision that leads to results. However, precisely because it is a mature business, challenges arise, such as the difficulty in achieving dramatic growth or creating innovation.

Furthermore, traditional casting inevitably faces constraints of time and travel. This can lead to situations where companies and societal needs cannot be fully met, such as when the schedules of in-demand talents fill up quickly.

Furthermore, while global interest in Japanese content is growing, talents often remain confined to domestic opportunities due to training limitations and language barriers, despite having potential for overseas expansion, leading to lost opportunities.

The use of digital humans holds significant potential as a means to solve these challenges and create new value.

Digital humans offer a highly engaging and flexible communication method, particularly within digital media like social media, video content, and metaverse spaces. While the technology itself has existed for some time, challenges in precision and flexibility previously hindered its practical implementation.

However, as you are aware, generative AI technology has made tremendous strides in recent years. Leveraging these advancements, digital humans have evolved to respond in real-time and engage in free-flowing conversations more naturally and smoothly. Their deployment is accelerating across various fields, starting with advertising.

Horipro × Dentsu Inc. New Venture: Aiming to Expand Real Talent

Therefore, the Dentsu Group in Japan has launched a joint digital human casting business with major talent agency Horipro.

As the first initiative of this joint venture, a digital human of Rika Adachi, an artist represented by Horipro, has been created. This expands Adachi's activities beyond the constraints of time and place, taking on new challenges not only in the real world but also in the digital realm. Moving forward, the venture plans to propose and implement more effective marketing strategies and casting services for companies and organizations seeking to utilize digital humans.

Digital Human Production Process

Furthermore, we aim to utilize generative AI in the future to create models capable of multilingual communication. This opens possibilities such as installing digital signage at tourist destinations where Rika Adachi's digital human provides multilingual guidance. Naturally, this also facilitates her use in global content, including commercials.

The completed digital human. The background image features "Diamond Lily," a flower designed by floral designer Masaru Akai, inspired by Rika Adachi's digital human.

By using digital humans to save time, we can focus more on providing services only we can deliver.

Digital human production represents a new challenge not only for talent agencies but also for the talents themselves. How does Rika Adachi view this initiative? Aaron Zhou, overseeing this joint project, interviewed Ms. Adachi immediately after filming.

(Talent/Actress: Rika Adachi, Business Development Producer: Aaron Zhou)

Aaron: How was your first-ever digital human production experience? Please share your honest thoughts.

Adachi: Everything was so fresh and interesting! They filmed such incredibly detailed parts, right? Closing my eyes, opening them, smiling, a neutral expression—those I could understand. But filming wrinkles between my eyebrows, my ears, the back of my neck... I can't wait to see how this will be used and what the final result will look like.

Aaron: So, an AI that looks just like you is about to be born. How does that feel?

Adachi: Well, I still think there are plenty of things AI can't do yet, work only we can handle. But I also feel there are areas where that's not the case. If digital humans can save time on those parts, maybe we can spend more time on the work only we can do. Being able to focus more on creative things and provide value that only the real thing can offer—that's good for everyone, right?

Aaron: Is there anything you'd like Adachi Rika's digital human to do?

Adachi: Right now, lots of people from overseas are visiting Japan, right? When I observe them, I see quite a few people looking at maps on their smartphones. There are still many people who get lost or don't know where to go or what to do. I think it would be great if my AI could support them in various languages.

Also, even Japanese people have lots of things they don't understand in daily life, right? For example, when you don't know how to handle procedures at a bank, if there was an AI that could explain everything from how to fill out forms to the steps involved, tailored to each person's specific purpose, it would make procedures smoother and reduce congestion. I'd be happy if I could become a presence that helps people in need like that.

Aaron: Until now, your work has mainly been in real-world settings like TV and magazines. But with the creation of this digital human, I imagine you'll have more opportunities to move and speak freely in the digital realm. How do you feel about venturing into this new territory?

Adachi: Sure, new things come with plenty of uncertainties, and I might fail. But the thought of becoming a pioneer by achieving something no one has done before is incredibly exciting. After all, I could potentially be present all over Japan, maybe even around the world. That sounds really fascinating. On the flip side, I have to work hard as the real me to not get outdone by the AI!

Aaron: It would be great if the real Adachi and the AI Adachi could build a relationship where they mutually elevate each other. We'll do our best to help expand your activities, so please continue to count on us!

Moving forward, we aim to diversify talent content more than ever before. This will be achieved by leveraging digital humans to arrange existing content using AI technology, thereby enhancing talent management capabilities and streamlining production workflows.

If you're interested, please feel free to contact us.

[Business Inquiries]
Dentsu Inc. BX Creative Center
Aaron Z. Zhu
Contact: https://dentsu-bxcr.com/contact