A young Chinese man who used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to “resurrect” his deceased grandmother has opened a controversial debate on the application of new technologies in this field.
An audio video of a conversation between the 24-year-old man, nicknamed Wu, and the AI version of his deceased grandmother has gone viral in recent weeks after Wu posted it online, news site cqcb..com reported.
“Grandma, my father and I will be returning to our hometown to celebrate the Lunar New Year with you this year,” Wu says in the recording. “My father called you last time. What did you tell him?”
“I told him not to drink wine. To save money and not to play cards” answers the grandmother created by the Artificial Intelligence.
“Yes Grandma, you should tell her to behave. My father, who is almost 50, still drinks wine every day. He doesn’t even have any savings. Grandma, what did you buy to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year?” Wu asked.
“I bought two bottles of edible oils. The farmers themselves pressed the oils. It smells wonderful haha, 75 yuan ($11) a bottle.”
During their conversation, the image of the grandmother seemed attentive, as if she was listening, and her mouth moved when she spoke.
Wu said he shares a deep bond with his grandmother, who died of the coronavirus in January at the age of 84.since raising him after his parents’ divorce.
How he “revived” his grandmother
To create the video, Wu used imaging software and old photos to create a dynamic image of her. She then trained the AI to mimic her tone of voice using recordings of her phone conversations. Finally, she also spent some time talking to AI chatbot ChatGPT to learn how to make her AI behave like her grandmother.
“I shared many details of my grandmother’s life with ChatGPT, hoping that she would understand the family background and how to express herself so that the AI could communicate with me in my grandmother’s tone,” Wu explains.
So far, the AI keeps conversations simple with short answers. However, it has already sparked a debate among users who question whether the way this technology is being used is correct or not.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.