Eerie AI Tech Processes Photos to Let You Talk to Dead Loved Ones
A South Korean artificial intelligence (AI) firm has begun offering a service that lets people talk to their dead loved ones after collecting photos and video footage of them.
DeepBrain AI’s service Re;memory uses machine learning to process photos and clips of recently deceased individuals to create a digital twin that can interact with the living as if they are on a video call.
Seoul-based DeepBrain showcased Re;memory at the Consumer Technology Association (CES) event in Las Vegas last week.
According to the Daily Mail, Re;memory’s service is expected to cost between $12,000 and $24,000 to create a virtual person.
It then costs a further $1,200 each time a person wants to have a conversation with it in Re;memory’s private memorial showroom.
The digital avatar mimics the expressions of the deceased individual. They can answer questions from grieving individuals and share memories from the past.
Using Digital Memories
DeepBrain creates the digital avatar by collecting videos and photos of the deceased person.
The company also requires the full participation of the subject as it needs to film a seven-hour pre-interview with the individual before their death to develop the virtual version.
After collecting an extensive amount of photo and video footage of the subject, the company’s image synthesis technology can create a digital version of them.
DeepBrain uses AI to synthesize the deceased person’s mannerisms, facial tics, and speech patterns with natural language processing technology to make real-time conversations possible.
DeepBrain uses AI to synthesize a subject’s expressions, facial tics, and speech patterns with natural language processing technology that makes real-time conversations with the departed individual possible.
‘Realistic’
DeepBrain’s Business development manager Joseph Murphy tells the Daily Mail that Re;memory technology is best suited for people with terminal illnesses such as cancer who could spend several hours in front of a camera to allow the software to learn their mannerisms and collect voice data.
Subjects are also encouraged to write journals about their lives, including childhood memories, to be saved into the system.
Murphy also says Re;memory’s digital avatars can be astonishingly realistic.
‘You might ask it “Tell me about the time you met Dad”, and the virtual person will be able to tell the story in full,” Murphy explains. “The more they journal, the more realistic the experience will be.”
PetaPixel previously reported on a grandmother who was able to answer questions at her own funeral last month with the help of new AI-powered “holographic” video technology.
Image credits: Header photo sourced via Re;memory.
