CEO has AI version of his mother address guests at her own funeral
A CEO has created an AI version of his own mother to address the guests attending her funeral.
The businessman made a digital version of his mother after she passed away in 2022 so that she could speak to people who attended the event to celebrate her life.
Probably one of the more bizarre funerals the guests had ever been to, Stephen Smith, who is the co-founder and CEO of virtual human startup StoryFile, created an AI avatar of Marina Smith so that she could interact with people at her funeral.
Smith had passed away at the age of 87 but appeared larger than life on a big screen during the ceremony.
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The simulated version of Marina was able to talk and answer questions about her life with generated responses that had been taken from recorded sessions with her before she died.
Stephen really took his work to heart, after he founded the company which makes synthetic media for what it calls “conversational videos”.
The AI avatars mimic how the person speaks by using multiple recorded clips of them as a way to preserve memories of people and events for the future.
On the company website, it said: “At StoryFile, our values are centered around trust, authenticity, and innovation. As a company pioneering an AI-driven technology platform, we understand that AI and similarly powerful technologies cannot be built with responsible innovation as an afterthought.
“Ethics are an integral part of the company by design. These values need to be reflected in company policy, how we operationalize our technology development process, and in the output of the technology we are building. We are committed to making AI more human.
“StoryFile’s AI principles promote our company values in our continuous design, development, and deployment of AI in our storytelling products and services.”
It seemed to get a mixed reaction online and, taking to X, formerly Twitter, people shared their thoughts.
One user wrote: “Death no longer stops us from communicating with our departed loved ones?!”
Another person said: “Cool or creepy?” To which someone responded with: “Count me out. Completely creepy.”
StoryFile does have some famous clients who signed themselves up to have AI versions created before passing away, including William Shatner and Ed Asner.
It’s thought that having digital representation of the deceased could become more common as the technology advances.
So, in the future, you might well be giving your own funeral speech to guests from beyond the grave. Pretty spooky!