Using AI to artificially bring people back to life has long been explored in science fiction, but advances in AI technology have made it possible in real life. In 2019, James turned chatbots into his HereafterAI app and business. This allows users to do the same for their loved ones.
He added that while the chatbot didn't take away the pain of his father's death, it gave him “more than he would have had without it.” “It's not like he's retreating into this very vague memory. I have this great interactive summary that you can refer to.”
HearafterAI users can upload photos of their loved ones to display on their smartphone or computer screen when using the app, but another company that turns humans into AI chatbots is going further .
South Korea's DeepBrain AI creates a video-based avatar of a person by capturing hours of video and audio to capture a person's face, voice, and mannerisms.
“We clone a person with a 96.5% resemblance to the original person,” said Michael Jung, chief financial officer at DeepBrain. “So most family members don't feel uncomfortable talking to their deceased loved one, even if it's an AI avatar.”
The company believes that such technologies can be an important part of developing a culture of “dying well,” where we prepare for death in advance and preserve family history, stories, and memories as a form of “living legacy.” thinking.
However, this process is not cheap and does not allow users to create their own avatars. In return, they must pay the company up to $50,000 (£39,000) for the filming process and the creation of their avatars.
Despite this high cost, some investors are confident it will be popular, and Deep Brain raised $44 million in its last funding round.