Should digital lives have a time limit? Scientists in the US claim they have found a way to create versions of human beings that will survive long after they are dead.
AI project offers 'immortality' for 25 people
Should digital lives have a time limit? Scientists in the US claim they have found a way to create versions of human beings that will survive long after they are dead.
Omar Hamdy arrives home and heaves a sigh of relief as he closes the front door. He has had a hard day at the office, with lots of criticism from his boss. Still, it was not as bad as when he used to get told off by his old headmaster. Thank goodness Mr Gaber has been dead for 20 years! But then he hears a familiar voice: "Hamdy! You are late again! Come here!"
He turns around, and there is Ghastly Gaber - or at least a very convincing avatarAn icon or figure representing someone online. . "You are a great disappointment to me, Hamdy," it says. "I shall have to think of a suitable punishment."
Unlikely though it seems, a scene like this could one day be possible, thanks to a project at Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyKnown as MIT, one of the top academic institutions in the world. It is located in Cambridge in the US state of Massachusetts. . Called AugmentedIncreased in size or value. Eternity, it is designed to build digital versions of people that will survive for ever.
It began with the project's leader, Dr Hossein Rahnama, thinking about all the data people leave on social media. He wondered if it could be used to teach AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. to respond in the same way that they would:
"For instance, might it be possible to replicate the knowledge held by experienced professionals? Can people seek legal opinions from the avatar of a famous lawyer?"
Rahnama started to get emails from people keen to pass on their thoughts after death. Some were terminally ill and wanted to create a legacy for their loved ones. One was the head of a company who was in his eighties but anxious that his team should keep on doing things his way.
The system Rahnama set up is now being used to create digital versions of 25 people. These could take the form of either chatbotsA chatbot is a computer programme that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions. or 3D avatars.
"AI is no way close to a state that can truly represent our intuition, our thoughts, our social behaviour, our empathyThe capacity to understand and feel the suffering of others.," he says.1 "However, it has reached a level that allows a glimpse of these."
Digital immortality is not a new idea. In his 1997 book Design for Dying, Timothy Leary wrote: "If you want to immortalise your consciousness, record and digitise."
In 2000, American inventor Raymond Kurzweil predicted that scientists would be able to scan and upload the human brain within 30 years. In 2015, Russian computer expert Eugenia Kuyda used texts from a friend who had died to create a chatbot that responded as he would have done.
These projects suggest some nightmarish possibilities. Suppose Kim Jong-unThe leader of North Korea since 2011. was still tormenting the Western world in 100 years time - or Michael McIntyre was still telling the same old jokes.
Donald Trump could keep on claiming that he had won the 2020 US election long after the voters were dead. The losing finalists in this year's World Cup could keep on demanding a replay.
There are some deep philosophical questions to consider, such as what consciousness is and whether it can actually be transferred. There might be legal issues, too, about who owns and manages a dead person's avatar.
Psychologists also worry that having an avatar to talk to would make the grieving process harder for loved ones rather than easier.
Should digital lives have a time limit?
Yes: We have quite enough to deal with in everyday life without people giving us their views from beyond the grave. There should be a law enforcing digital "death" after 200 years.
No: It would be a wonderful thing for future generations to have a strong picture of their ancestors and what they thought about the world. It would add a whole new dimension to human life.
Or... This is a much better approach than biological attempts to attain immortality, such as cryogenicsA technique for freezing a person's body in the hope of later bringing them back to life.. Avatars would not take up space on our crowded planet and should be strongly encouraged.
Keywords
Avatar - An icon or figure representing someone online.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Known as MIT, one of the top academic institutions in the world. It is located in Cambridge in the US state of Massachusetts.
Augmented - Increased in size or value.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
chatbots - A chatbot is a computer programme that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions.
Empathy - The capacity to understand and feel the suffering of others.
Kim Jong-un - The leader of North Korea since 2011.
Cryogenics - A technique for freezing a person's body in the hope of later bringing them back to life.
AI project offers ‘immortality’ for 25 people
Glossary
Avatar - An icon or figure representing someone online.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Known as MIT, one of the top academic institutions in the world. It is located in Cambridge in the US state of Massachusetts.
Augmented - Increased in size or value.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
chatbots - A chatbot is a computer programme that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions.
Empathy - The capacity to understand and feel the suffering of others.
Kim Jong-un - The leader of North Korea since 2011.
Cryogenics - A technique for freezing a person’s body in the hope of later bringing them back to life.