Mr. Wu recently posted a video of a virtual conversation with his grandmother
Since the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), users all over the world have been discovering what experiments they can do with it. Now, tech-savvy people have gone a step ahead and started using AI tools to create realistic avatars of people who have died. Recently, a 24-year-old man in China surnamed Wu used AI to create a life-like digital avatar of his late grandmother, reports South China Morning Post.
Mr. Wu, who is a visual arts designer, posted a video of a virtual conversation with his grandmother, which has sparked a heated discussion in the country.
“Grandmother, my father and I will go back to our hometown to celebrate the Lunar New Year with you this year,” Mr. Wu said in the recording. “My father called you last time. What did you say to him?
”I told him not to drink alcohol. Be thrifty and don’t play cards,” replied AI Grandma.
Mr Wu said he shared a deep bond with his grandmother, as she raised him after his parents divorced. However, he died of coronavirus in January at the age of 84.
Saddened by her death, he used AI to create a virtual avatar of her to communicate with her. He first used image software and old photographs to create a dynamic image of her and then trained the AI to mimic her voice using recordings of her phone conversations.
“I shared many details of my grandmother’s life to ChatGPT, hoping it can understand my grandmother’s family background and speech so that it can communicate with me in my grandmother’s accent,” Mr. Wu said. Currently, the virtual version can only have simple conversations, but she can blink, nod and even laugh heartily.
Mr Wu said he only made the project for ‘psychological comfort’ and said he ‘loves being able to see grandma and talk more with her.’
His story has now attracted a lot of attention, with many sympathizing with him, while others were not on-board with the unusual concept.
One person said, “It is a way of taking away one’s sorrow. What this blogger did is worthwhile. The company of an AI is still a form of companionship, after all.” Another commented, “It’s not real. Aren’t you scared to talk to him? I think he should just let his grandmother rest in peace and remember her in his heart.
Notably, many funeral companies in China are also using this technology to allow people to relive moments with their loved ones who have passed away via Guangzhou Daily. the straits times,