Forum Examines Digital Humans and Military AI Training
USC's Annenberg Center hosted a forum on AI-driven digital humans, featuring research from the USC Institute for Creative Technologies.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
Live Poll
Would you trust a computer-generated person to listen to your personal problems?
The Annenberg Center for Communication Leadership and Policy held a forum titled "AI and the Rise of Digital Humans" on a Tuesday. USC Institute for Creative Technologies presented recent work on 3D-animated digital human models.
Why it matters
The discussion highlights how generative AI now lets researchers rapidly create unique, human-looking characters for uses ranging from military training to mental health support. Los Angeles, home to USC, is a hub where this research intersects with academic and technology communities.
The Institute for Creative Technologies was founded in 1999 by the Department of Defense to build advanced military training systems. Generative AI has enabled the institute to generate unique characters rapidly, though the source does not report performance metrics for these systems.
The players
Randall W. Hill Jr.
Randall W. Hill Jr. is executive director of the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, a research lab that develops AI-driven simulations and training systems.
Adam Powell
Adam Powell is executive director of the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative and moderated the forum.
USC Institute for Creative Technologies
The USC Institute for Creative Technologies is a research center founded by the Department of Defense in 1999 that builds advanced training and simulation systems.
The details
Speakers presented the Ellie prototype, a virtual social worker that looks and sounds human and identifies distress through body language, tonality, gaze and speech. In one study, veterans disclosed more information to Ellie when told it was autonomous than when told it was human-controlled, which researchers linked to feeling less judged.
Timeline
1999: Department of Defense establishes the Institute for Creative Technologies.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026: Annenberg forum on digital humans is held.
The Tech Race
The Institute for Creative Technologies, founded by the Department of Defense in 1999 to build military training systems, shows how defense-funded simulation research is now being applied to consumer-facing digital humans. Generative AI has shortened the time needed to produce convincing characters, pushing that research toward civilian uses.
Digital humans trained to detect distress could eventually appear in mental health tools that people use directly. The research suggests users may disclose more when they believe they are not being judged by a human, which could shape how such tools are designed.
The takeaway
Users may be more willing to share personal information with an AI they believe is autonomous, a finding that matters for anyone evaluating digital mental health tools. Designers and reviewers should weigh how perceived judgment affects candor.
Further reading
For more on the field, explore Artificial Intelligence coverage from Los Angeles.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Daily Trojan.
Live Poll
Would you trust a computer-generated person to listen to your personal problems?
