AI: Talking to the dead is an unknown tomorrow

John discovered a page on Twitter that invited him to talk to legends in various fields: scientists, former state presidents, actors or music stars. What do some of them have in common? The fact that they died.

'I'm listening to it right now and my brain completely forgets that this is AI', says one of the comments. And this is the danger that I see.

Beyond the fact that it falls into the deep fake category, and I wonder about the relevant legislation from the beginning, this can touch one's emotions in the cruelest possible way.

I mentioned legislation, because imagine how long it will take until someone provides recordings of the voice and movements of a deceased loved one, to the implementing company. And the implementing company, in the exchange of a monthly subscription, returns that person as a confidant.

Imagine that there will be many 'Good morning!' and 'How much I missed you...'

In fact, we could all do this experiment, and put ourselves in the shoes of such a person, and imagine that someone would give the chance again to ask a dear friend, lover, grandfather, mother or father... let's say for advice. Or forgiveness. Or to express some repressed affection. Whenever we wish. Although the said person is deceased.

Now please repeat the experience for a person who ended the relationship with you, although you did not want this, and you're still longing for the moments together. Is this less dramatic, or not really?

You don't have to be a psychiatrist to understand that for the human brain this is total confusion.

Gone with the Wind

Following Covid-19, there is a real danger that some of us will move into a new phase of social isolation, and brought by some AI based applications.

There are already people who have turned Chat GPT into a friend and even a psychologist, or who accept medical advice from the bot in various areas.

Moreover, it's a fact that a Belgian man committed suicide, encouraged by a chatbot . And this was not 'Star Trek', nor 'Star Wars'. It is also true that the Holodeck idea is still seen as fun, but the topic of the movie 'Inception' can be easily recreated through AI. Depending on one's psychology and the dramas that crossed its life, the subject can end up as Dom Cobb. But certainly not played by Di Caprio.

Being already very difficult to also distinguish between reality and fakes generated by AI, I believe that the psychology of each individual will play a crucial role, just like the specialists in this field.

This was supposed to be the work of Sisyphus, right?

It's not a cliché, we urgently need specific legal regulation of artificial intelligence. And we need to hear from experts in all the fields about potential implications, applied to each practical situation.

The development and implementation of a software involves a lot of work, processing power, testing and finally release. As an implementation team, you can work until the due date and thinks could not always work out. And you can redo the work, and delay the project delivery one year, two years, or more.

In Q1 2023, 150 AI Chatbots were launched, and the first theory that comes to mind is that they are based on already existing APIs. A common denominator certainly exists, and lots of research behind, which now makes it possible the easy AI transition to a new implementation phase.

Statistics show that the phenomenon is growing rapidly, and the AI based applications are becoming part of everyday life.

There are undeniable benefits in all areas and I talked about how we should look at Chat GPT here . However, as the implications on the human psyche appear, there are people asking: Shouldn't we test the applicability of AI apps more?, and going as far as banning or not authorizing the release of some versions of AI software.