Lyconet and AI avatars: vision or illusion?
Lyconet is touting personalised AI avatars as a groundbreaking innovation in network marketing. But is this vision really a revolution – or a technical illusion? Numerous unanswered questions regarding technology, economic efficiency and legal conditions cast doubt on the project’s feasibility.
Technological hurdles: deceptively real or half-baked?
Lyconet promises deceptively real AI avatars – from facial expressions and gestures to speech reproduction. But can the underlying technologies fulfil this claim?
Question of technology:
- The company refers to a partner company that combines different AI models. Technologies such as deepfake algorithms, speech synthesis and motion capture could play a role. But can this combination really go so far that the avatars are indistinguishable from real people?
Data basis:
- Lyconet claims that a single video is enough to fully digitise a marketer. However, realistic avatars require detailed video and audio data. Exactly how much of this data is needed and how much work is actually involved in creating each avatar remains unclear.
Automation instead of interactivity:
- In the call, Lyconet explained that individual videos should be created for each marketer. The aim is to drive forward the automation of training, presentations and onboarding processes. But how convincing and effective is standardised content for complex tasks such as acquiring new customers or conducting sales pitches? Regular updates: A ‘push of a button’ – really that easy?
Lyconet advertises the ease with which avatars can be updated at the ‘push of a button’. But is it really that simple from a technical point of view?
Effort:
- Regularly adapting video and text content could take more time and effort than is suggested. With Lyconet and myWorld, frequent changes are the norm. This could make updates a never-ending task.
Technical limits:
- Will the quality of the avatars be maintained with continuous customisation? Or will this lead to inconsistencies that affect the credibility of the content?
- +calability and cost-effectiveness: An ambitious plan
- 15,000 avatars in over 50 countries – that sounds ambitious. However, the technical and financial costs could slow down Lyconet’s plans.
Computing power and storage space:
Operating and storing 15,000 avatars requires enormous resources. It remains unclear how Lyconet intends to overcome these challenges.
Cost issue:
The stated price of €2,999 per avatar seems surprisingly low given the features described. This sum would have to cover not only creation but also operation, updates and licences. Is this realistic?
Full risk for marketers:
For €2,999, marketers receive a package that includes a promo avatar video, the first year’s maintenance fee, and ten videos in two languages. The roadmap stipulates that actual content production will only start once all 300 avatars have been sold in a country – and in the order of payments. This means that marketers bear the full risk: they pay in advance without being able to be sure when (or if) the content will be delivered.
Unique in the market: vision or wishful thinking?
Lyconet claims to be the first network marketing company to implement AI avatars on this scale. Initial tests in Italy are said to have shown that the avatars can even imitate dialects. However, large technology companies that specialise exclusively in AI technologies have so far failed in similar projects or have only been able to implement them with significantly smaller target groups. Can Lyconet overcome the technical, organisational and financial hurdles?
Great ambition, great risk
Lyconet’s plan to introduce AI avatars promises a lot – but it also carries equally significant risks. Technological challenges, economic uncertainties and legal hurdles could make the project considerably more difficult. The company emphasises that the rollout is scheduled to begin as early as January 2025.
But we remember previous ambitious projects by Lyconet that failed – from country packages to cloud solutions to Chicago Lane. The central question remains: are AI avatars a real innovation or the next big illusion?
We will have this topic scrutinised by experts to carefully evaluate the technical feasibility and the associated risks. For marketers, the pressing question remains: is it worth the high stakes, or is another disappointment looming?
And as always, those affected are welcome to comment on this, or if someone has more or different information, they are welcome to share it with us. We are not interested in making false claims and our primary goal remains the provision of complete documentation.
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