It enables “conversations” with our loved ones who are no longer alive
How do we experience the whole future amid grief and the loss of our dearest people?
An artificial intelligence (AI) company called “You, Only Virtual” is creating a chatbot modeled after our loved ones who are no longer alive, with its founder, Justin Harrison, telling “Good Morning America” ​​that he hopes people don’t have to grieve at all.
“You, Only Virtual” scans text messages, emails and phone calls shared between an individual and the deceased to create a chatbot that composes original written or audio responses imitating the deceased person’s voice and modeling the relationship and rapport the two shared in real life.
The company, founded in 2020, hopes to offer a video-chat option later this year and eventually offer augmented reality that allows interaction with a three-dimensional projection.
Harrison, who used the technology to create “a virtual mother” after his mother’s death, dismissed potential privacy concerns raised by using personal conversations to build a chatbot without the consent of the deceased.
“You absolutely do not need the consent of someone who is dead,” he said. “My mom might have hated the idea, but this is what I wanted and I’m alive,” he emphasizes.
