14 - The AI That Resurrects the Dead: Digital Immortality and Tech Ethics

Digital resurrection is transforming grief. "AI Freaky Facts" host Steve explores griefbots, voice cloning, and holographic funerals. Discover how AI alters how we mourn and remember, raising deep questions about memory, identity, and life's meaning.

Topics Covered:

AI Freaky Facts, Steve Atwal, artificial intelligence, griefbots, digital resurrection, voice cloning, holograms, deepfakes, memory preservation, Replika, StoryFile, VALL-E, Descript Overdub, MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia, D-ID, HereAfter AI, mind uploading, Nectome, Neuralink, ethics of AI, digital immortality, consciousness, death and technology, psychological impact of AI avatars

References:

1. Speak, Memory – Roman Mazurenko AI Memorial Bot (2016) .

http://www.theverge.com/a/luka-artificial-intelligence-memorial-roman-mazurenko-bot

2. Replika: AI Companion That Cares (2023) .

https://replika.com

3. “Meeting You” Creator on His Controversial VR Child Reunion Show (2020).

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20200405/meeting-you-creator-on-his-controversial-show-i-hope-it-opens-up-dialogue-video

4. StoryFile: Conversational Video Technology for Digital Legacy (2023).

https://storyfile.com

5. VALL-E 2: Neural Codec Language Models for Speech Synthesis (2024).

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/vall-e-x/vall-e-2/

6. Descript Overdub: Create a Digital Voice Clone (2023).

https://www.descript.com/overdub

7. MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia: Animate Faces in Family Photos (2021).

https://www.myheritage.com/deep-nostalgia

8. D-ID Live Portrait: AI Photo Animation Technology (2023).

https://www.d-id.com/liveportrait-4/

9. Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska – Research on Griefbots and Digital Afterlife (2024).

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/370132

10. A Startup Is Pitching a Mind-Uploading Service That Is “100 Percent Fatal” (2018).

https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/03/13/144721/a-startup-is-pitching-a-mind-uploading-service-that-is-100-percent-fatal/

Music Credits:

1. Classical Vibes 5 - Mixkit. Licensed under the Mixkit Stock Music Free License, which can be used in commercial and non-commercial projects for free.

https://mixkit.co/free-stock-music/classical/

2. Dream Culture by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Calming/Dream_Culture/

3. 'Signal to Noise' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/signal-to-noise/

4. 'Legacy' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/legacy/

5. 'Age of Wonder' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/age-of-wonder/

This podcast is narrated by the host's own voice, powered by AI.