Kumu Collaborates with Google Cloud to Build AI Tools that Assist Content Creators
Kumu, the Philippines’ homegrown live streaming and entertainment app, is collaborating with Google Cloud to create artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools for entertainment, education, and customer service using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform.
Kumu has always sought ways to make Filipino content more fun and engaging with innovative technology. In its early days, the app gained popularity by hosting ‘’Quiz Mo Ko’’. It is a homegrown, interactive, and fully-digital game show where users could participate on their phones and win prizes. Another milestone for Kumu was their partnership with ABS-CBN’s ‘’Pinoy Big Brother’’ (PBB) reality TV show. By sending virtual gifts on the Kumu app, viewers could influence the housemate’s actions. Also, they can even vote to save or evict the participants. Additionally, since the PBB streams were on 24/7 and shown globally, the partnership contributed to historic numbers for the program’s reach and viewership. It is no surprise then that as soon as generative AI started gaining traction, Kumu looked to an AI-first company like Google Cloud. They explore how the technology could be applied to enhance its live content experiences.
Generative AI
Generative AI, or generative artificial intelligence, refers to the use of AI to create new content, like text, images, music, and videos. It is powered by foundations models (large AI models) that can multi-task and perform out-of-the-box tasks. These include summarization, Q&A, classification, and more. With minimal training required, foundation models can be adapted for targeted use cases with very little example data. Generative AI works by using a machine learning (ML) model. It learns the patterns and relationship in a dataset of human-created content. It then uses the learned patterns to generate new content.
In June 2023, Google Cloud announced the general availability or generative AI support on Vertex AI. At Google Cloud Next ’23 in August 2023, Google Cloud expanded Vertex AI’s capabilities with new models and tools. This is to further empower businesses to easily experiment and build with foundation models and customize them with enterprise data. They also smoothly integrated and deploy them into applications with built-in privacy, safety features, and responsible AI. Vertex AI Search and Conversation, for instance, enables developers with little ML expertise to build and deploy intelligent enterprise search and chat apps in as little a few hours.
From enhancing internal operational efficiency to improving external customer experiences, enterprise-grade generative AI capabilities can play a crucial role. They can help businesses deliver more personalized and novel products and services.
Kumu’s First AI Streamer
At a showcase event at the Google office in the Philippines, Rexy Dorado, kumu’s Co-Founder and President, showcased a live demo of ‘’Crisostomo A. I. Barra’’. It’s Kumu’s first AI streamer who can response to questions about Philippine history. It goes even beyond what’s written in ‘’Noli Me Tangere’’, the novel that his character and personality was based on. It also includes the Kumu app, and general pop culture. Rexy also gave the attendees a sneak peek into other AI avatars in the pipeline: AI game show host, fortune tellers, tour guides, and customer support agent. An early adopter of Google Cloud’s generative AI capabilities for businesses, Kumu builds its AI streamer and other AI avatar. They use Google Cloud’s PaLM 2 for Text and Chat first-party models, Embeddings for text and images, and generative AI Studio. All of which can be accessed through the Vertex AI platform.
The showcase was followed by a firesides chat on the future of generative AI and its mainstream application cross industries.
Rexy was joined by Ellard Capiral, kumu’s VP of Engineering, Angelo Mendez, Kumu’s Chief Innovational Officer. They were also joined by Abhishek Bhagwat, Google Cloud’s AI/ML architect. They addressed questions about how Kumu’s AI product will enhance user’s ability to develop creative content. (e.g., providing recommendations on viral topics, coaching them on other community-Building Kumu app features. It also includes helping them with technical streaming programs like Open Broadcaster Software); how this technology can make troubleshooting or searching telco product FAQs more efficient; and how AI could be a game changer for keeping students and employees more engaged. The panel also spoke about the importance of moderating AI-powered streams. This is through a combination of importing and reviewing reliable datasets, fine-tuning and testing the models underpinning these services. It also includes enabling users to report inappropriate content.
Panelists; Abhishek Bhagwat, AI/ML Architect at Google Cloud; Rexy Dorado, Co-founder and President at Kumu; Angelo Mendez, Chief innovation Officer at Kumu; and Ellard Capiral, VP of Engineering at Kumu
At the showcase event, Kumu announced the launch of a live stream contest. The winners will be able to build their own AI avatars with support from Google Cloud. Kumu hopes to eventually have a 24/7 live channel filled with various AI streamers and personalities.
This collaboration between Kumu and Google Cloud aims to encourage more startups and enterprises alike to embrace the power of generative AI. This is also to understand how this technology can best complement and strengthen their Businesses. For companies looking to partner with kumu to build AI avatars of their own or simply explore and learn more about its AI products. Feel free to reach out to Ellard Capiral from Kumu (ellard@kumu.ph).
