AI Goes Deep into Industry: Microbiome Pharma, Companion Robots, and Hyper-realistic Digital Humans

From microbiome pharmaceuticals to home companion robots and then to hyper-realistic digital humans, AI is becoming a key variable for breakthroughs in technical bottlenecks and product experiences in these fields. Several recent public conversations and interviews have revealed related progress and challenges.

In microbiome pharmaceuticals, Xbiome uses an AI + BT model to develop gut microbiome therapeutics. Its fecal microbiota transplantation drug XBI-302 has received FDA IND approval for clinical trials, and four drug pipelines have now entered clinical development ^[2]. At a GeekPark Rebuild 2022 conversation, Xbiome co-founder and CEO Yan Tan explained that the scientific community calls the genes of gut microbes the human body's second genome, while the medical community calls the gut microbiota a forgotten organ ^[2].

On companion robots, Hachi Robotics founder and CEO Chen Zhenyu believes that with the rapid development of AI technology in 2019, many industries had already made extensive use of AI to solve the problem of machines recognizing objects, giving robots the opportunity to understand the world and proactively interact with people. In his view, a good companion robot should solve user needs at an appropriate price and take on companionship services more proactively, rather than passively waiting to be awakened ^[3].

Hyper-realistic digital humans, meanwhile, face the 'uncanny valley' and the challenge of stage-by-stage technological development. Shuzi Xusheng co-founder and CTO Weng Dongdong said that any industry related to making humans will inevitably encounter the uncanny valley theory, and the next step is to solve being human-like in static form, in motion, and in interaction. An ideal digital human should proactively interact with people ^[6]. The company and Qianbo Information jointly developed the digital sign language presenter Qianyan, which provides sign language interpretation on the left side of the screen during TV news broadcasts to help deaf and mute people understand news content ^[6].

From drug development to interactive hardware to digital humans, these cases show that AI is no longer just a single tool; in specific scenarios, it is combining with biotechnology, robot bodies, and 3D real-time content to push products from 'usable' toward 'more human-like / more understanding of people.'