AI-powered “grief tech” is now released and it has proved to be an exciting leap forward!
MIT Technology Review states that the tech works by training an AI on images, recordings, and footage of people who have died lately. This creates a virtual form that grieving people can “interact” with.
The objective is to allow the loved ones of the deceased to process their loss and preserve memories after death.
“From what I could glean over a dozen conversations with my virtually deceased parents, this really will make it easier to keep close the people we love,” wrote MIT’s Charlotte Jee, who, with the help of her living parents, tested out a grief tech startup called HereAfter AI for herself.
“It’s not hard to see the appeal,” she added.
“HereAfter is an app that lets you preserve meaningful memories about your life,” reads the company’s website, “and interactively share them with the people you love.”
According to Jee, her AI “parents” first sounded “distant and tinny,” but started to “sound more like themselves” over time.
She also stated that she had a productive experience as she learned a few new stories about her parents’ younger lives, heard some tales about her own childhood, and even got some advice on her life’s matters.
The idea can be challenged by saying that the experience offered is the same as repeating the old recordings or voicemails, going through old videos, or just flipping through photo albums. However, the photos do not speak, and they definitely won’t talk back when you talk to them. The AI-generated recordings create an illusion of truth and make it easier to cope.