Artificial intelligence can now act as a ouija board, with grief tech emerging that promises to bring your dead relatives back to life – but critics decry it for exploiting mourners
This may sound like sci-fi, but for a monthly subscription boffins have created a digital version of your deceased loved one – pioneering a kind of emotional AI called “soul tech” and “digital immortality”.
The spooky startup Reflekta builds it by feeding it text, voice recordings, and memories. It turns the memories into conversations where the bot responds the same way your loved one used to.
Reflekta says it “uses new technology to reflect the image and likeness, soul and spirit of loved ones, both present and passed”.
You can have an ongoing conversation with the bot, supposedly helping families overcome bereavement.
“Reflekta was born from one simple wish: to hear their voice and connect once again. Everything else followed,” explained Miles Spencer, co-founder of Reflekta.
“We want to help people connect with loved ones, even after they’ve passed. Grief and love are two sides of the same coin, and Reflekta gives love a voice that endures, ethically and respectfully.”
Co-founder Greg Matusky uses the platform to speak with a virtual version of his own father, a WW2 veteran.
Matusky said he says he “speaks with dead relatives all the time.”
“It’s not them, but it is their stories and legacies. It’s their experiences which have floated to the surface for me.”
But critics decry it for cashing in on mourners and stopping the natural grieving process.
Lewis Goodall, best known for appearing on Newsnight, said there’s “profound danger” with the product, that it could be viewed as “exploitative” for making money from a person’s grief, and even encouraging those who have experienced loss to remain in that state.
“To die is a fundamental part of the human condition. To grieve and to lose is part of the human condition,” he put to Matusky.
“You could be in a position where you’re persuading people that they’re talking to their dead relatives – but they’re not.
“It’s fiction. It’s a phantom.”
Reflekta said it prioritises ethics and family approval is always needed. The grief bots can’t be used for commercial purposes without consent.
It’s not the only grief tech business around.
Relatives can have video chats with dead loved ones from beyond the grave for £1,000 a pop, offered by DeepBrain.
It’s virtual reality of humans that mimics voices and facial expressions.
But DeepBrain’s Joseph Murphy admitted the service was controversial, saying: “We’ve already found it to be really polarising.
“Some people love the opportunity to live on forever in this way but many people view it as inauthentic.
It is expected to cost up to £20,000 to create a virtual person – then £1,000 each time a loved one wants a natter.
Business development manager Murphy suggested it was best suited for people with terminal illnesses who could spend several hours in front of a camera to allow the software to learn their mannerisms and voice.
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