The Eternal Sunshine of the AI Mind

Grieving's about to get a lot weirder

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

I had a client who watched her partner murder her son. The horrific event ruined her life. She became a desolate, desperate shut-in. Luckily, she was hypnotic. And religious.

I put her in trance and guided her across the river Jordan to visit her son. I remained silent while the client silently communicated with the dead.

When she emerged from trance, she was smiling. Her son was hale, hearty and happy. He’d urged her to get on with her life.

From that moment on, my client found enough peace to marry and experience joy in her life.

As a non-religious man, I believe her “conversation” was in her own mind. But hey, whatever works. Right? Well…

The rise of the thanobots

Introducing thanobots: AI chatbots that simulate the dead.

A new film called Eternal You tells the story of Christi Angel, a woman who uses a Project December AI chatbot to “communicate” with a deceased significant other.

The trailer hasn’t dropped, but the clip above teases the technology.

Programmers use AI to create a bot that looks, sounds and reacts like the deceased, complete with facial expressions.

What could possibly go wrong?

The money shot (as reported by decrypt.co): “When Angel asked the AI avatar where he is, the chatbot responds, ‘In hell.’”

Plot twist! Will real world thanobots suffer from AI hallucinations?

Grief counselors sound the alarm

As you’d expect, real world grief counselors are sounding the alarm about losing their jobs. Sorry, the potential perils faced by thanobot users.

Howling Lion Grief Support Center Grief, Loss and Bereavement Therapist and Educator Elizabeth Schandelmeier (above) reckons here be dragons.

Any differences [between the deceased and the AI simulation] will create cognitive dissonance and challenge the grieving person's perception and memories, which could be deeply disturbing and extremely confusing.

That seems like a technical problem. No doubt a thanobot can be programmed to deflect from memory gaps.

[“I don’t remember that. Tell me what you remember.” The thanobot remembers the event and its impact for a following session.]

Elreacy Dock, Thanatologist and Adjunct Professor of Thanatology at Washington-based Capstone University, Shares his colleague’s skepticism.

Simulated interactions and responses typically will not be able to replace that unique relationship that was shared with a loved one or the overall value and significance of a human connection with them.

Oedipus Wrecks

I see a bigger problem: how can you grieve for someone when they’re not dead?

In the film New York Stories, Woody Allen’s [dead] Jewish mother shows what can happen when there’s a ghost in the machine.

Think that’s crazy? At what point do you introduce a romantic partner to your dead relative? So, do you like her?

What could possibly go wrong part 2

Creating realistic AI thanobots to help people “process” grief sounds like a noble endeavor. Like everything else, it’s informed by the profit motive.

Will there be commercial breaks during a thanobot session unless you pay for the premium tier? If not, will the deceased make product recommendations? He who owns the dead makes the rules.

In The People’s Republic of China no one owns anything without the Party’s permission (i.e., they own everything).

Don’t turn around. What’s the bet Chinese commissars have considered the possibility of programming thanobots to promote their political agenda?

What about a Scientology-sponsored thanobot (post-mortem conversion)? The mind boggles.

How to manage the thanobot dangers

How do you defend your psyche from an AI loved one who knows exactly how to “push your buttons”?

I have no idea.

To end on an optimistic note, AI therapy bots will aid humans through emotional challenges and traumas.

AI bots will also make actual, honest-to-God human interactions that much more valuable.

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. Until I die, that is.