The advent of Open AI’s ChatGPT has brought a new revolution in the field of technology. It can write essays, poems, powerpoint presentations and even film scripts. But do you know, people in China are using this chatbot to resurrect the dead and talk to them?
For example, an engineer named Yu Jialin was 17 when his grandfather died. The techie remembered how he would yell at him over trivial issues like video games. Jialin wondered what he would tell his grandfather if he could turn back time.
After spending weeks of hard work, his artificial intelligence project bore fruit. He typed the sentence,”Hey Grandpa. Guess who I am?” A video of a man looking like his grandfather appeared. The man in the video was a digital projection of Jialin’s grandfather who had passed away. The engineer had created this avarar using his grandfather’s text messages, photos, videos and letters. Sixth Tone reported.
What are griefbots?
Jialin had stumbled across griefbots, which are AI-powered programmes or chatbots created to simulate a conversation with someone who had died. They use machine learning algorithms to extract information from a person’s chat history, social media posts and digital footprint to mimic the personality.
Not only in China, the trend to create digital simulations of the deceased is slowly gaining momentum in other countries of the world including the United States.
This concept has been tested for years, such as the AI-powered programmes which learn how to mimic human beings through the memorabilia. Sue Morris, the director of bereavement services at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told Business Insider that it is natural for the humans to change the way they mourn as technology evolves.
Controversy
The concept of griefbots has run into controversy. According to an infoanalytics professor, the griefbot can pose a serious ethical dilemma. According to report, a deceased person’s identity can be misused by a fraudster. The anti-social elements can pretend they are a medium who communicates with its spirit.
