In China, people who have lost their relatives are reunited with them thanks to artificial intelligence-supported software from technology companies.
The French news agency AFP reported that “ghost bots”, avatars made from voice images of people, are in great demand in China.
Zhang Zewei, founder of Super Brain, one of the artificial intelligence companies in the country, said, “China is a global leader when it comes to artificial intelligence technology. There are many people in China who need these programs. This gives us an advantage.”
With prices ranging between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan (approximately 41,400 TL to 82,800 TL), the company can produce an avatar of any person within 20 days.
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The company’s clients include relatives of the bereaved, parents who can’t spend time with their children, and even people who have an avatar of an ex-lover.
Zhang stated that their work fulfills the emotional needs of many people and said, “The digital version of someone can exist forever, even after their body disappears.”
Seakoo Wu, a father who lost his son Shunamo at the age of 22, collaborated with Super Brain to create the avatar.
When Seakoo visits his son’s grave, he takes out his cell phone and listens to Shunamo’s avatar speak. The robotic voice from the phone tells the father the following:
I know that you suffer great pain every day because of me, that you feel guilty and helpless. Even though I will never be able to be with you again, my soul is still in this world and will accompany you throughout your life.
Sima Hupeng, founder of China-based Silicon Intelligence, a company focused on artificial intelligence technology, argued that avatars will “revolutionize the understanding of humanism”.
Tal Morse from the University of Bath in the UK pointed out that more research is needed into the psychological and ethical dimensions of such software.
“The key question is how ‘faithful’ the ghost bots are to the personality they are designed to emulate. What happens if they do things that ‘pollute’ the memory of the person they are supposed to represent?”
Link: Hindustan Times
