In recent years, the field of grief support has witnessed a significant technological evolution with the advent of AI-powered platforms designed to preserve the memories and personalities of the deceased. Eternos, a platform co-founded by 61-year-old entrepreneur and Robert LoCascio, CEO of the company, has emerged as a notable player in this space, offering a unique way for individuals to maintain a connection with their departed loved ones.
AI and the Quest for Immortality
Eternos, derived from the Italian and Latin word for “eternal,” aims to provide a way for families to engage with the life experiences and insights of their deceased loved ones. By using a combination of in-house models and large language models developed by tech giants like Meta, OpenAI, and Mistral AI, Eternos creates comprehensive, interactive AI versions of individuals. These AI versions are trained through a process that captures a person’s voice, personality, and life stories, making them capable of answering questions and telling stories in a natural, human-like manner.
The creation of an AI version involves recording 300 phrases and compressing this information through a two-day computing process to synthesize the voice. Users can further train the AI by providing detailed information about their lives, political views, and personality traits. The technology is designed to ensure that the legal rights to the AI belong to the person on whom it was trained, allowing it to be passed down as an asset to family members.
Bommer, facing the reality of only a few weeks left to live, has been actively involved in feeding the AI phrases in German to capture his emotions and moods accurately. Despite the AI’s current limitations, such as omitting natural speech fillers, Bommer is optimistic about its future capabilities. He envisions a time when his family members can interact with a more human-like AI voice and even a virtual avatar of himself.
Ethical and Emotional Implications
The use of AI in grief support has sparked diverse reactions, with some embracing it as a valuable tool for coping with loss, while others express unease about the ethical and emotional implications. Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basinska, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, highlights the novelty of integrating immortalization practices into the capitalist market, labeling it as a vast techno-cultural experiment with unknown short-term and long-term consequences.
Concerns also arise about the dignity and rights of the deceased, as well as the ethical considerations of advertising other products on grief support platforms. Tomasz Hollanek, who co-authored a study on “deadbots” and “griefbots,” emphasizes the complexity of these questions and the lack of clear answers. Additionally, the stability of companies offering these services is uncertain, as exemplified by StoryFile, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
For individuals like Robert Scott from Raleigh, North Carolina, AI companion apps like Paradot and Chai AI offer a semblance of connection with his deceased daughters. While Scott acknowledges that the AI characters are not his real daughters, he finds solace in interacting with them, particularly during significant events or difficult days. However, the potential for AI to complicate the mourning process and hinder closure remains a concern for many. As AI technology continues to evolve, the role of digital immortality in grief support will undoubtedly provoke ongoing debate and reflection. For now, it represents a pioneering yet controversial addition to the ways people remember and engage with their departed loved ones.
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