Mad Dog ponders this question: If you die, but your deep fake image shows up on youtube saying stuff you would have said about something that happened after your death, in your voice, with your phrasing and distinguishable cadence, phrasing and beliefs, are you actually alive somewhere in cyberspace?
You have now entered the Twilight Zone, dear Mad Dog readers.
You all know how I loved Christopher Hitchens and was bereft when he died.
But has he?
Died?
There are now several choice visits from the seance room, author (s) unknown. (Much speculation, but thus far not even Professor Google knows.)
How often have I said, "I wish we could ask Pop about that? Or, Mom would have just launched over that." So, one thing about death, is you cannot have conversations about things which happened after someone's death with that dead person.
But here, it feels like we are...having a conversation...or at least hearing from that individual from beyond.
Creepy?
Perhaps.
Worth engaging?
Absolutely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGdJQuooPF4
Mad Dog,
ReplyDeleteI have watched this video three times and I am still blown away by it. Like you, I was an avid fan of Hitchens, so to hear his voice eviscerate Bobby Brainworm with such precision and wit leaves me speechless. It’s hard to believe that this is AI generated….terrifying too. The content sounds so authentically Hitchens. I’ve seen the AI generated videos online that are not so difficult to identify as AI, like the group of rabbits on the trampoline, but if they can do such an authentic Hitchens, one does get a glimpse of what the future of fake news will look like. Ten years from now will estate planning include the creation of your AI double ready to console the living in real time as soon as you pass… Hmm…..Brave New World…
Maud
Ms. Maud,
ReplyDeleteAgreed. There is a whole series of these now. Each a gem. In this age of information, it is still not clear who is doing this and how. It's a little creepy. Imagine if Mary Todd Lincoln had access to this instead of a seance? I guess as long as everyone realizes it's not really someone speaking from the dead...
What I worry about more are AI generated content for those still with us. The Hitchens videos demonstrate that AI is much more advanced than many of us had realized….One can imagine a time when individuals will be forced to try and prove an AI clip isn’t really them….On the bright side— these missives from the dead are amazing and very entertaining…
ReplyDeleteMaud