In a cemetery in eastern China, Seakoo Wu hears the voice of her late son on her phone. It is not a record of the moment in his life: if he speaks it is thanks to artificial intelligence.
“I will have my son with me again”
Like Seakoo Wu and his wife, more and more grieving Chinese are using artificial intelligence (AI) to bring some semblance of life back to their lost loved ones. For Xuanmo’s father, the goal is to ultimately create a virtual double of his son that behaves exactly like him.
Several Chinese companies have launched themselves into this niche of virtual mourning: some say they have created thousands of “digital personas,” sometimes just from a 30-second video of the deceased.
Saekoo and his wife saw their lives turn upside down last year when their only son died of a stroke at age 22. He was studying finance and accounting at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. An athlete, “he had a very busy life,” says Saekoo.
The rise of ChatGPT-like chatbots in China has given the devastated father new hope: virtually resurrecting his son. To do this, he collected photographs, videos and audio recordings of Xuanmo. He then spent thousands of dollars on artificial intelligence companies to clone the face and voice of his son.
A population “in emotional need”
Si les résultats restent rudimentaires, Saekoo ne veut pas s’arrêter là: muni d’un dossier qu’il a constitué, où fourmille une quantité astronomique d’informations sur son fils, il mise sur des algorithmes pour reproduire sa manière de penser et to speak The phenomenon of these “ghost robots” does not only exist in China: in the United States in particular, companies are in this niche.
But “in artificial intelligence technology, China is among the best in the world,” says Zhang Zewei, founder of the company Super Brain, specialized in this technology, and a former collaborator of Saekoo Wu.
Super Brain charges between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan (between 1,300 and 2,600 euros) to create a basic avatar in about 20 days, according to Zhang Zewei.
His clients are not only heartbroken people, but also parents frustrated by not spending enough time with their children… or even an inconsolable lover who wants to see his ex-girlfriend again.
A digital version of a person.
One of the services offered is a video call with an employee, whose face and voice are replaced by those of the desired person.
“It is of enormous importance to our society, even to the entire world,” said Zhang Zewei. “A digital version of someone (can) exist forever, even if their body is no longer there.”
Sima Huapeng, founder of the company Silicon Intelligence, in Nanjing (east), is convinced: this technology represents “a new type of humanism.”
He compares it to portraiture or photography, which in their time revolutionized the way of remembering the dead.
These virtual doubles can provide some comfort, acknowledges Tal Morse, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Death and Society at the British University of Bath. But we still need to know what its psychological and ethical impact will be.
A “double-edged” technology
Because “what happens if they do things that ‘contaminate’ the memory of the person they are supposed to represent?” And how can we know if the deceased person would have really given consent?
Any new technology is “double-edged,” admits Super Brain’s Zhang Zewei. But “as long as we help those who need it, I don’t see the problem.”
He says he does not work with those for whom the experience could have a negative impact, citing the case of a woman who attempted suicide after the death of her daughter. Xuanmo “probably would have agreed” to return to life virtually, his father says.
“One day, my son, we will all meet in the metaverse,” he says, while his wife cries in front of his grave. “Technology improves day by day (…) it is just a matter of time.”
Source: BFM TV
