Resurrecting dead loved ones with AI is already one thing.

Reality Follows Fiction is a new documentary that explores a sci-fi scenario where loved ones are recreated using artificial intelligence so they can communicate from beyond the grave.

“Eternal You,” directed by Hans Block and Moritz Rycevic, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and focuses on creating AI avatars of the dead.

As first reported by Rolling Stone, the film follows the story of Christi Angel, who uses an AI chatbot called Project December to “meet” a dead person. What happened next fits a Hollywood horror flick.

When the angel asks where the AI ​​avatar is, the chatbot replies, “In hell.”

Turning to technology to fill the void left by a partner, parent or close friend is nothing new. Registering an AI before one passes away is one strategy to achieve a form of immortality. And “ghost bots” are already a trend in China. But experts question the psychological, emotional and ethical aspects of the act.

For his part, Project December founder Jason Rohrer is also drawn to the narrative possibilities.

“I'm also interested in the horror aspect of it,” Rohrer is reported to have said. “When I read a copy like that, and it gives me goosebumps, I love the goosebumps.”

Rohrer has not yet responded to Decrypt's request for comment.

Angel's terrible chatbot experience may be due to an ongoing case of AI nightmares. In AI models, hallucinations refer to artificial intelligence reacting confidently in inaccurate, nonsensical, or disturbing ways.

Chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT have exploded in popularity since their generative AI model went public last year. Chatbots trained on the information of a deceased person are called “Tanabots”. The term derives from tautology, which refers to the scientific study of death, focusing on the needs of the terminally ill and their families, examining the physical, emotional and physical state. Cultural aspects. The field also includes social attitudes and rituals surrounding death.

An AI-generated video of dead people going viral on TikTok last May. These short video clips include video, audio and first-person narration, including those of royalty Marie Floyd, who was murdered in 2018.

Deeply fake is created by artificial intelligence that shows fake events. Deepfakes are the most popular forms, while video and audio are deepfakes thanks to generative AI.

The use of AI “tanabots” has some mental health experts warning that having a digital avatar of the deceased can hinder the grieving process.

“Using AI to create avatars for personal or commercial use should be carefully considered, given the potential impact on the bereaved,” Elizabeth Schandelmeier, a grief, loss and recovery therapist and educator, told Decrypt. “Bereavement is a process of adapting and integrating loss into our lives, and it helps us understand the profound changes that the death of someone important to us can bring.”

Part of the grieving process, Schandelmeier, a fellow in entomology at the Howling Lion Grief Support Center and a grief expert, says how it affects a person's life narrative, legacy, identity and life.

According to Schandelmeyer, using an AI to create a human can seriously disrupt that process because the AI's image or personality can be very similar, but not exactly like the dead person.

“Any discrepancy creates cognitive dissonance and challenges the bereaved's understanding and memory,” says Schandelmeyer. “This can inhibit a person's ability to adapt to the current life and cope with the real and practical changes that accompany death.”

Elreacy Dock, a thanatologist and adjunct professor of thanatology at Capstone University in Washington, D.C., says there are pros and cons to using artificial intelligence to mimic or replicate the dead. Interacting with an avatar of your loved one can provide comfort and closure, allowing you to see your loved one again and express unshared feelings, helping to cope with the loss.

“While these benefits are very promising, the use of these models can still be a major concern,” Doc said.

As Doc explains, interacting with an AI avatar of a deceased person—especially for someone still in the early stages of denial or shock—can be emotionally dependent on the relationship with an AI avatar of a loved one.

“A final consideration is that using AI avatars to replicate the likeness of a dead person may upset some individuals,” Doc said. Although there is ongoing discussion about eventually trying to integrate a person's consciousness and memories into AI, simulated interactions and responses typically cannot replace that unique relationship shared with a loved one or the overall value and worth of a person. with them.”

Especially, one wonders if that loved one says they are sending messages from hell.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.