With the help of such technology, it is easier to survive the loss or, conversely, fall into an unhealthy addiction.
Tamara Cavenett, President of Psychologicalsociety, says it's normal to experience grief after the loss of a loved one. Research shows that if a person begins to relive and revisit memories associated with the loss, this can be helpful.
“Therefore, it is possible that grief can be helped by talking to a simulated deceased person. On the other hand, it can prevent someone from coming to terms with the loss and moving on,” she said.
Is Artificial Intelligence Blurring the Lines Between the Real and Digital Worlds?
At the annual Amazon conference, the company showedvideo in which a child asks: “Alexa, can my grandmother finish reading The Wizard of Oz for me?”. The voice of an elderly woman, imitating the child's grandmother, begins to read.
The updated system will need 1 minutehuman voice in order to learn how to parody it. It is not yet known when Amazon will launch the feature, said Rohit Prasad, senior vice president and chief scientist at Amazon.
We are undoubtedly living in a golden eraartificial intelligence, where our dreams and science fiction become reality,” Prasad said. In his opinion, human qualities, such as empathy and understanding, have become even more important during the pandemic, "when many of us have lost those we love."
“AI cannot eliminate the pain of loss, but it can prolong memories,” he said.
Are there people who have already "communicated" in this way with the dead?
The idea of using AI in this way is not new.Tamara Cavenett says the technology's appeal is clear. But she warned that it could interfere with natural processes and even distort a grieving person's memory of their loved one.
“People can only start interacting with AI,to the detriment of real friendships and connections. Therefore, the technology is potentially useful, but should be approached with great care. This area has never been explored before,” Cavenett said.
For example, James Vlahos stated that thistechnology had a therapeutic effect on him after his father died. For months, Vlachos has been writing down stories about his father's life after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. He turned them into an interactive AI called Dadbot that speaks in his father's voice.
"It didn't replace my father, but the AI helped me remember him when I needed to," Vlahos, founder of Herefter AI, ABC, told ABC.
In 2020 the San Francisco Chroniclepublished an article about 33-year-old freelance writer Joshua Barbeau, who used a chatbot to communicate with his girlfriend Jessica. She died in 2012 from a rare liver disease.
VR technology helped a woman in South Koreameet her daughter Nion, who died at the age of seven from leukemia. The developers created a digital model of a girl for the documentary "I met you". It took eight months, lots of photos, and a real little actress who shared her moves for Nion and her mother to meet.
And in 2018, Evgeny Kuyda created a chat bot fromold text messages of his friend Roman Mazurenko. “I didn't expect it to be so exciting. It’s usually very hard for me to show emotions or grieve, so I basically tried to avoid it,” he said at the time.
What is the problem with AI that speaks in any voice?
On the other hand, Microsoft stated thatwill restrict the use of software that imitates the human voice, as this feature can be used for fraud. Microsoft will require companies to apply for and obtain permission to create artificial voices. In May 2022, the company began watermarking voice sounds with an inaudible signal to identify abuse.
“This technology has enormous potential, but at the same time it can easily mislead people,” said Microsoft's chief AI officer Natasha Crampton.
Using its technology, you can create a clone,who will speak in the voice of a certain person. Fraudsters will be able to use it to mislead employees of large corporations and ordinary people.
This technology can also lead to a range of ethical issues, such as when people's data is used without their consent.
Why is it dangerous from a psychological point of view?
“There is a risk that corporations will try totake advantage of the sadness and longing felt by many people who have lost loved ones,” Cavenett said. Therefore, according to her, if a person is sad, it is more useful for him to turn to a psychologist than to AI.
On the other hand, if someone has a trigger in the form of this deceased, but dear person. Then he simply can not survive all the necessary stages to the end.
In a clinical case, a person will developdependence on this virtual inclusion and communication with a deceased relative. Then he generally loses touch with reality, says clinical psychologist Anastasia Shavyrina.
Perhaps such technologies can still havetherapeutic effect if the survivor did not finish something or retained a grudge against the deceased. Such contact can be beneficial, but on condition that a psychologist is nearby.
Cavenett noted that in a state of healthy grief, we imagine or remember our loved ones based on what we knew about them in life.
“Our memories of loved ones are an important legacy that they leave behind,” she concluded.
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