Who Wants to Live Forever?

Let me share something that happened last week, which was bizarre and absolutely unexpected. A series of completely unrelated events coincidentally collided at the same moment, leading me to a peculiar insight and sparking an intriguing idea combining dreams, technology, and AI.

Event 1: Ray Kurzweil Interview at Joe Rogan Podcast

For those who don't know, Ray Kurzweil is a prominent figure in the realms of technology and futurism, celebrated for his work as an inventor and his role as a director of engineering at Google. With a career spanning several decades, he has made significant contributions to technologies we now take for granted, including optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, and speech recognition technology. Beyond his inventions, Kurzweil is perhaps most famous for his forward-looking predictions about the future of technology and humanity. Central to his futurist philosophy is the concept of the Singularity, a term borrowed from physics and applied to technological progress. Kurzweil predicts that by 2045, technological growth will become so rapid and its effects so deep, that human existence will undergo a fundamental transformation. This event, according to Kurzweil, will be characterized by the merging of human cognitive capability with advanced artificial intelligence and other technologies, potentially allowing humans to enhance their intelligence, health, and physical capabilities beyond natural limitations.

Kurzweil's notion of the Singularity suggests a future where the barriers between humans and machines blur, leading to scenarios that seem like science fiction today, such as uploading one's consciousness into a digital form or enhancing one's biological body with cybernetic parts to achieve unprecedented levels of intelligence and longevity. His predictions extend into the realm of achieving a form of immortality or significantly extended lifespans through advancements in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. He posits that we will eventually be able to reverse-engineer the human brain, allowing for mind-uploading, where one's consciousness could be transferred to a non-biological medium, thus escaping the physical limitations and vulnerabilities of our biological bodies.

Event 2: OpenAI Shared Audio Previews of Voice Engine - a Model for Creating Custom Voices

The model can generate speech that remarkably resembles a human voice using just text input and a brief 15-second audio sample. Despite its small size, the engine is capable of producing emotive and realistic speech. Initially developed in late 2022, Voice Engine has been instrumental in enhancing the preset voices in OpenAI's text-to-speech API, as well as powering ChatGPT Voice and Read Aloud features. This advancement showcases the potential for more natural and accessible communication technologies.

Event 3: Highlander Story and "Who Wants To Live Forever" by Queen

I stumbled upon "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Queen, from the Highlander movie, after someone posted it on social media. "Who Wants to Live Forever" is more than a song; it's a deep reflection on living forever and losing loved ones, which are key parts of the Highlander story. The Highlander movie, tells the story of Connor MacLeod, a Scottish warrior from the Highlands. Born in the 16th century, Connor finds out he's immortal after he survives a deadly wound in battle. This discovery starts a long journey for him, dealing with the challenges of immortality while watching everyone he loves grow old and pass away. The movie looks at the solitude and sadness that come with being immortal, alongside the excitement of never-ending life.

Event 4: It's a Personal Story

Eighteen years have gone by since my father passed away. Recently, I've noticed something – I can't remember how his voice sounded. No matter how hard I try, it's like trying to catch smoke with my hands; I just can't "hear" him in my head anymore. It's a strange feeling, wanting to hear something you know by heart yet finding only silence. I've even asked my family, "Can you remember what dad sounded like?" They all say "Yes," and I can see in their eyes that they really do. But for me, it's not the same. Their memories can't fill the gap in mine.

Connection Event

Right before the long weekend kicked off, my mind was a whirlpool of thoughts, each sparking the next, until one particular idea took firm root:

How can I talk with my father once again?

This longing set me off on a journey filled with wonder and countless "what-ifs."

What if I possessed just a 15-second voice recording of his? With it, I could potentially create an AI synthetic voice that mimics his exactly. And suppose I had a video recording; I could then craft a custom AI avatar bearing his exact likeness. With today's technology, this isn't just feasible—it's readily achievable. The market offers a lot of AI solutions capable of generating real-time custom avatars.

However, a deeper question then surfaced: Could this artificial voice and avatar replicate not only his sound but also embody his thoughts and emotions? Today's technology can forge digital versions of people, but capturing the essence of a person—their beliefs, loves, thoughts, and core values that make us uniquely human—seems like venturing into the unknown.

Yet, what if we could interview someone with thousands of questions? Perhaps we could then capture the essence of who they are. Furthermore, if we had access to their writings, videos, or recordings, we could use these materials to teach the AI system, creating an even more precise representation of the person. Consider how effortlessly ChatGPT can emulate the writing style of renowned authors, thanks to training on their writings. This same principle could be applied in this scenario.

Armed with these tools—voice technology, custom AI avatars, and personal data—I realised that having conversations with an entity that closely resembles my father might not be beyond reach.

Imagine, then, a service that could make this a reality, enabling you to prepare such a legacy in advance and leave it for your children and family as part of your will...just imagine

Questions and Concerns

If this becomes possible, it raises hundreds of questions and concerns, and these are just a few of them. To be clear, I can anticipate the questions that may arise, but I don't have the answers. However, we can at least begin the discussion.

1. How can privacy be protected when handling personal data to create these avatars?
2. What mechanisms ensure explicit consent from individuals before creating their AI avatars, especially after their death?
3. What are the ethical considerations of creating a digital form that doesn't allow someone to truly "die"?
4. What is the psychological and emotional impact on relatives and friends interacting with avatars of deceased loved ones?
5. How can we navigate cultural and religious beliefs about death and the afterlife in the creation of these avatars?
6. How can we ensure that an AI avatar operates within the ethical bounds of autonomy without overstepping?
7. Who owns an AI avatar: the estate of the person, the creator, or the platform hosting it?
8. How can avatars be kept updated with evolving societal norms and values?
9. What criteria should determine when and how an AI avatar should be retired or terminated?
10. Who has the right to interact with or modify the avatar?
11. What are the risks of forming unhealthy attachments to digital representations of people?
12. What societal disruptions could arise from blurring the lines between the living and digital personas?

Final Thoughts

For me, the moral of the story is that 10 years ago, this was like a dream with many unknowns. But today, you can create a beta version of this that is going to be quite good only with the tools that are already on the market. When we dream, we don't need to set any constraints on what is possible and what is not. That's how we create new technology, led by our imagination.

If you have a similar story, ideas and thoughts about imagination and AI, ping me on LinkedIn and send it over. I will consider publishing it as a part of the newsletter.