Entrepreneur Michael Bommer Partners with Eternos to Create AI Legacy
In the quiet suburbs of Berlin, at his leafy home, Michael Bommer, a 61-year-old startup entrepreneur, has embarked on a unique endeavor to immortalize his essence through artificial intelligence. Diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, Bommer is investing his remaining time in a project with Eternos, a leader in AI legacy platforms spearheaded by CEO Robert LoCascio. Together, they’ve crafted an interactive AI representation of Bommer — the company’s first of its kind.
Fostering Posthumous Conversations with Advanced Technology
Drawing inspiration from the Italian and Latin word for “eternal,” Eternos aims to enable family members to interact with Bommer’s life experiences and wisdom even after he passes. The growing field of AI technology related to legacy preservation is becoming more robust, with Eternos at its forefront.
Competing companies are also making strides. California-based StoryFile offers interaction with pre-recorded videos, engaging users with conversational AIs like “HereAfter AI,” which prompts personal storytelling, and “Project December,” a chatbot simulating conversations with a profile of the departed. On a different note, Seance AI offers a complimentary session to reanimate voices of loved ones for just $10.
The Edges of Ethics and Mourning in AI
While some view these AI technologies as therapeutic, others grapple with unease, citing concerns over complicating the grieving process with an endless digital connection. Researchers like Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basinska at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, have highlighted that these initiatives represent a considerable cultural and technological experiment within a capitalist framework.
As Bommer faces his limited mortality, he pours phrases into the AI in German, hoping to also capture emotional nuance in his voice. Demonstrating the AI’s capabilities on a tablet, Bommer engaged in a touching digital recollection of his first date with his wife, Anett, whom the digital Bommer remembered “very, very clearly.”
Leaving a Legacy in the Age of AI
Eternos has utilized leading language models from the likes of Meta, OpenAI, and Mistral AI. Users can train the AI by answering extensive lifestyle and personality questions, which helps the AI to narrate their life stories with no repetitive answers. Bommer, who believes a memoir would immortalize him more than an AI, views this not as a bid for eternal life but as a nuanced conversation preserved for his family.
Anett Bommer remains ambivalent about using the new software after her husband’s departure, suggesting that in initial mourning, she might prefer reminiscence over AI interaction. The couple’s journey into this digital immortality underscores the complex interplay of technology, memory, and human connection.
Most Important Questions and Answers
Q: What are the ethical concerns associated with creating an AI legacy?
A: Ethical concerns include the potential for complicating the grieving process, privacy issues surrounding the deceased’s data, the consent of the individual and their family, and the impact on societal concepts of death and mourning. Some argue it could prevent closure or distort memories of the deceased.
Q: How does AI legacy technology work?
A: AI legacy technology involves training AI models with a person’s life experiences, voice, mannerisms, and knowledge. This can be done through extensive questioning, recording personal stories, and capturing linguistic patterns to enable future interactions with the AI that resemble conversations with the actual person.
Key Challenges and Controversies
Challenge: Balancing technological capabilities with respectful memorialization is challenging. Developers must ensure that the AI respects the individual’s way of living and their relatives’ feelings.
Controversy: There’s debate over whether “digital immortality” helps people mourn or if it might prolong or complicate the natural grieving process. Concerns also arise regarding the consent to use one’s data after death and who controls this legacy.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
1. Offers family and friends the chance to revisit memories and engage with the essence of loved ones who have passed away.
2. Serves as a digital archive, preserving the knowledge and life experiences of individuals for future generations.
3. Can be therapeutic for some individuals, providing comfort and a sense of connection.
Disadvantages:
1. May interfere with the process of grief and acceptance by creating an illusion of presence.
2. Legal and privacy concerns surrounding the use of a person’s likeness and personal data after death.
3. There’s a potential for misuse or misrepresentation of a person’s AI avatar, raising ethical implications.
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The source of the article is from the blog queerfeed.com.br