The guy "resurrects" grandma with AI

"Digital life" leads to controversy, where is the boundary of technology

"Your body is fragile, it will hurt, it will get sick, it will get old, it will die, but the digital you can theoretically live forever."

This is the "Digital Life Plan" proposed in the movie "The Wandering Earth 2", the protagonist of the film, Tu Hengyu, spent his life trying to upload the memory of his deceased daughter to the virtual world, which stimulated everyone's discussion and thinking about life, and made everyone feel the warmth of AI as a tool...

Recently, a video on the Internet caused great controversy, in which a guy used AI technology to "resurrect" his deceased grandmother, and also made a video call with "grandma". With the blessing of scientific and technological means, this "grandmother" has a very natural voice and tone in addition to a slightly stiff expression. Some netizens said that they cried and missed their deceased relatives; Some netizens marveled at the development of science and technology today; Some netizens believe that the so-called "grandma" is just a cold piece of code and does not have much practical meaning; More netizens are worried that this set of AI technology is being used for illegal purposes...

Intern Yuan Xianwen Yangtze Evening News/Purple Cow News Reporter Jiang Tiansheng

"Create" with AI tools like ChatGPT

The "virtual" grandma looks and sounds very realistic

UP master Xiaoliang told reporters that using AI to "resurrect" grandma is because he can't accept grandma's sudden departure, "In just half a month, the first few days are still chatting with grandma about the future, after a few days grandma can only communicate simply, and the next few days are pushed into the ICU (intensive care unit) can not be seen, and finally grandma becomes a handful of ash in the box..." Xiaoliang said that all this came too suddenly, and for a long time, he did not believe that his grandmother left.

"After dealing with my grandmother, I would habitually call my grandmother's phone, but no one answered again." Xiao Liang was brought up by his grandmother since he was a child, and his relationship with his grandmother is very deep, "I used to tell my grandmother when I encountered something, but now I don't know who to talk to." Xiao Liang usually works in AI, so he thought of using AI to "resurrect" his grandmother. Xiao Liang imported the photos of his grandmother before her death, made her dynamic avatar, and imported her grandmother's call audio into the AI to train the AI to simulate her grandmother's voice and tone.

In Xiao Liang's video, the AI "grandma" can have a simple conversation with him, such as Xiao Liang asking, "Grandma, did you buy anything for the New Year?" AI "grandma" replied, "I bought two pots of oil, squeezed by others, very fragrant, 75 yuan a pot." The second half of the video is Xiao Liang's "self-talk", he tells "grandma" that he has recently been promoted and raised, don't worry about himself, and also remind "grandma" not to always wear patched clothes and not get cold. Finally, Xiao Liang told "grandma" that he would not come back to eat at night, so that "grandma" did not have to wait for herself.

Xiao Liang told reporters that he knew that he could only give himself a psychological comfort when he did this. He understands that what is presented on the screen is always an illusory image, "but as long as you can look at Grandma again, a few more words is good." Xiao Liang introduced that with the current technical level of AI, as long as there are enough samples, the face, voice, and tone can reach a similarity of more than 90%. Xiao Liang bluntly said that he used the latest tools, including ChatGPT.

"But at present, AI can only reach 50% in the mode of thinking," Xiaoliang said, this matter is essentially to require AI to be an actor, and it can imitate the appearance and voice very well, but at the current level of science, it cannot imitate a person's soul. "My 'grandma' and I can only communicate simply, and if you say complex things, she can't understand it."

"Digital Life" made netizens quarrel

Is it spiritual sustenance? Or is it deceiving itself?

Xiao Liang's video of "resurrecting" his grandmother quickly caused fierce debate among netizens, and some netizens expressed their understanding and support for Xiao Liang. Some netizens said that after his grandfather died, he used his grandfather's photo to make a blink dynamic, although the effect was a little rough, but seeing the grandfather in the photo moved again, his tears fell again. The netizen said, "If you can see the loved one you think about day and night reappear on the screen, see him blinking, smiling, and hearing him speak, it is a very gratifying thing in itself." ”

Some netizens believe that the so-called "grandma" is just a string of cold code and does not have much practical meaning. "I don't like this, 'loved ones' feel like a manipulated electronic doll, you can say whatever you want it to say." "This kind of spiritual sustenance is just deceiving yourself to make up for regrets." More netizens are worried that this technology is used for illegal purposes, "In the future, if someone borrows money, the video confirmation is not good." ”

Behind the "digital life"

In foreign countries, "chatting with the deceased" has formed an industrial chain

In fact, abroad, it is no longer news to use AI to bring deceased relatives back to themselves. In 2020, a South Korean mother wore VR glasses and tactile gloves, re-heard the childish voice of her daughter who had died for three years, "touched" her cute face, and made up for her third birthday, and finally watched her "daughter" turn into a butterfly and disappear into the air.

Last year, an algorithm engineer "resurrected" his grandfather with AI, and also apologized to "grandfather", such as not yelling at his grandfather, and "grandfather" forgave him... The reporter noticed that the program made by the algorithm engineer a year ago, after entering the question, the program took dozens of minutes to generate a video of the "grandfather" answering, and judging from the video released by the UP master Xiaoliang, his "grandma" can basically answer questions and answers like daily conversations.

For AI, it is an iterative upgrade of algorithms

In foreign countries, services related to "chatting with the deceased" have formed an industrial chain in recent years. For example, relying on the GPT-3 Project December service, users can create their own chatbot for only $10, allowing it to play the person you know best. HereAfter AI, which is more expensive, records people's life stories and builds your own avatar based on that.

Taking ChatGPT, which is responsible for the ability of "logical thinking", as an example, in the final analysis, such an AI tool is only a language model, and there is no subjective thinking ability, whether it is the demeanor and habits of the deceased relatives, the current AI is still incomprehensible, not to mention, the moral and ethical issues involved behind this, even large companies like Microsoft dare not venture in. From the perspective of AI, most of their humane replies are attributed to the iterative upgrade of algorithms, but humans with fragile defenses will always accidentally fall into the sweet trap set by AI unintentionally.

For us, it's even more important to cherish the present

Chen Zhilin, a national second-level psychological counselor, told reporters, "From a psychological point of view, compared with traditional photos, relics and other items, AI technology can use high-tech means to better preserve the voice and smile of deceased relatives, so that people who are suffering from bereavement can be comforted." Not only can it heal the grieving, but it can also allow the departed to be 'preserved' in a more three-dimensional way. Chen Zhilin said that the trauma caused by the departure of relatives is inevitable, and some people will even have depression and anxiety, which will be reduced over time, generally no more than six months. AI can give people some comfort when they are in the most pain, and can alleviate the pain caused by the death of loved ones. However, it must be emphasized that excessive dependence on it must be avoided. Chen Zhilin pointed out that many AI "resurrection" cases are to make up for regrets, but this compensation can only be the self-comfort of the living, "More importantly, we must know how to cherish the present..." (Yangtze Evening News)