When dozens of employees at Klick Health said they wouldn’t be able to hug loved ones over the festive season, the company created some magic to orchestrate sentimental reunions to surprise team members.
In a new video called ‘Holiday Hugs’, the company first produces some amazing AI embraces for the workers missing loved ones.
Then, those heartwarming deep-fakes lead to surprise appearances ending in real-life in-person hugs.
“I just wish I could really squeeze her right now,” said teary-eyed Klickster Kari Bocassi from New York, after watching the AI-generated hug with her sister Marlene.
Then, moments later she bursts onto the set for a long in-person embrace.
The siblings spent the past 14 years caring for their mother after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but haven’t been together for the holidays since Marlene moved to Virginia.
Similarly, Toronto’s Fred Duarte gets the bear hug of his life when his brother Rico, who lives in Brazil, walks into Klick’s production studio for their first holiday reunion in seven years.
Created in partnership with the Foundation for Social Connection in Washington D.C., the effort comes as a public poll commissioned by Klick found that 74 percent of Americans and Canadians won’t be able to hug at least one person they wish they could over the holidays.
Just like the folks in the video, survey participants cited two major reasons why they’re not getting together for the holidays: 1) geographical distance and 2) loved ones having passed away. Kink could overcome both.
Watch the ‘Holiday Hugs’ video below, and continue reading to hear about the AI hugs…
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Pointing out the health benefits of hugging, Klink Health says they don’t just make people feel better emotionally, they also have numerous health benefits: “According to the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.”
“There’s nothing quite like the warmth and reassurance of a heartfelt hug,” added Klick’s Chief Creative Officer Rich Levy. “Seeing the joy and tears of our Klicksters reminds us that no technology can truly replace the magic of human connection, but it can help bring us closer in the most surprising ways.”
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‘Holiday Hugs’ was filmed in Klick’s in-house Studio K production facility, where the production team took Klicksters’ photo submissions and transformed them into video clips of lifelike hugs between them and their loved ones, using the Gen-3 Alpha Turbo tool by Runway.
If you’re interested in creating your own AI-generated holiday hug, Klick animators created a how-to-video showing how they did it.
GIVE A VIRTUAL HUG To Loved Ones By Sharing the Cool Video On Social Media…