2023-05-26 12:18:53
In 2020, a Chinese software engineer named Yu Jialin came across an article about lip-syncing technology, which uses a pre-set computer program to match lip movements to recordings. At this moment, the young man’s mind suddenly popped up:
“Can I see my grandfather again using this technology?,’ Yu Jialin wondered.
Yu’s journey to ‘revival’ his grandfather was captured by Sixth Tone journalist Tang Yucheng. Incorporating a variety of emerging AI technologies, the people of this country have built special programs, in the hope of being able to chat with their deceased loved ones.
Yu was fortunate to have the opportunity to say the last word to him thanks to the AI. The software engineer said his grandfather died when he was 17 years old. “Everyone in the family tried to forget him instead of missing him forever,” said Yu.
Gribot has been in testing for years, mostly AI programs that learn to mimic humans through memorabilia photos and clips. With just a few small pieces of data, they will be able to almost accurately reproduce the gestures, words, and thoughts of the deceased.
Lu, an AI-focused researcher, says systems like ChatGPT have learned to speak or write very naturally.
“You just need to tweak the system a bit to get 99% similarity. The difference is very small,” said Lu.
To teach the AI model what a grandfather is, Yu Jialin consults old letters from his grandmother. He also retrieves photos and videos taken more than a decade ago and reads text messages his grandfather sent him.
However, even after weeks of testing and training, the technology still has a long way to go before a complete clone can be created.
– Mr. Guess who you are?
– It doesn’t really matter who you are. Life is a miracle.
However, as soon as Yu gave the AI more information about his grandfather, it began to more accurately represent his habits and preferences.
– Happy Teahouse has stopped broadcasting, sir.
– That’s a pity. The movie he wanted to see the most was gone. He wanted to see a few more episodes.
At that moment, Yu felt that he had succeeded. He was happy to introduce this technology to his grandmother after a while of adjusting the system. She listened in silence as her late husband answered each question, then thanked her grandson for bringing back so many good memories.
China uses AI to “revive” the dead to say goodbye.
Sue Morris, director of funeral services at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, says it’s only natural for people to change the way they mourn the dead.
In the past, in the 1980s, people used to write stories to remember their loved ones, but now they have switched to storing videos and photos.
According to Mary Frances O’Connor, director of a laboratory at the University of Arizona, when photography became popular in the 19th century, some people even took pictures with corpses and hung them in the living room as a memorial.
Today, in the digital age, AI is leveraged. A 24-year-old blogger in Shanghai named Wu Wuliu used AI and trained a chatbot to mimic his late grandmother. “Despite many limitations, I still feel very happy to see and talk to her,” he said.
Previously, a Chinese cemetery also used GPT software and voice cloning AI to “revive” people who were buried here. Thousands of people use this technology at a cost of about 7,300 USD (nearly 200 million VND) to ‘see’ their loved ones.
Previous versions of Gripbot have been a hit. Several companies and research projects in the US also offer this service, such as Replika – a social AI application.
In Canada, a man named Joshua Barbeau also “revived” his girlfriend with Project December – a program built with the forerunner of GPT. Barbeau’s girlfriend died eight years earlier, and talking to the chatbot helped him heal.
The Korean documentary ‘Meeting You’ tells the story of a young mother reuniting with her dead 7-year-old daughter in a virtual world. Viewers were concerned that the film was prone to manipulative emotions, even though the mother was grateful for this precious experience.
Professor Lu said Gribot and related products could pose serious ethical dilemmas. The identity of the deceased can also be exploited by many scammers.
HereAfter.AI is an American-based company dedicated to providing experiences that help people upload their personalities online. The AI gets to know them through images, audio logs and questionnaires, thereby creating a digital avatar that can talk to friends and family after they pass away. Its founder, James Vlahos, also spent months collecting memories and reliving the life of his terminally ill father.
However, not everyone wants to be “revived” in such a way. The next generation can be in big trouble if they use personal information in an unsafe way.
“A person’s death does not mean that private information is allowed to be released by others, even if they are family members.,” said Professor Lu.
Back to the engineer Yu. He later decided to delete the chat software with his grandfather for fear of becoming too dependent on AI. “These feelings will likely have a big influence on the way I live and contribute,” said Yu.
According to: BI, Sixth Tone
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