A woman named Sirine Malas from Berlin, Germany, spoke to her dead mother using an AI tool. As per a report by Sky News, Malas’ 82-year-old mother had passed away in 2018 due to kidney failure. She never got a chance to introduce her child to her mother, as she was separated from her in 2015 when she fled to Germany from Syria. Malas was unable to overcome the grief of losing her mother and wanted to have closure by talking to her one last time.
This is when she turned to an AI tool called Project December to connect with her. This tool is powered by OpenAI’s GPT2 and is designed to stimulate the dead. Users need to fill out a form that requires details of the deceased like their age, relationship and a quote. This tool then tailors a profile based on these details and charges $10 (approx Rs 800) for an hour to chat with the deceased.
Malas described her experience talking to her dead mother as “spooky” and “strangely realistic”. She revealed that the AI chatbot addressed her by her nickname and said that her mother was watching over her.
The app’s founder, Jason Rohrer, stated, “Most people who use Project December for this purpose have their final conversation with their dead loved one in a simulated way and then move on.” He added that over 3,000 users and most of them have used it to talk to a loved one.
She explained, “There were moments that I felt were very real. There were also moments where I thought anyone could have answered that this way. My mom could drop a few words in telling me that it’s really me, or it’s just someone pretending to be me, I would be able to tell. And I think there were moments like that.” She said that it helped her move on, but she also warned that this tool can also be dangerous.
She stated, “It’s very useful and it’s very revolutionary. I was very careful not to get too caught up with it. I can see people easily getting addicted to using it, getting disillusioned by it, wanting to believe it to the point where it can go bad.”
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