As Qingming Festival approaches, the time for honoring deceased loved ones draws near, and AI "resurrecting" deceased relatives has become a trending business.
According to reports, there's now an entire industry chain surrounding "AI resurrection of relatives," with agents releasing related videos to attract potential customers and production teams specializing in charging for the creation of such videos.
Some practitioners claim that they can receive over 70 orders per month for AI "resurrecting" deceased loved ones, indicating an unimaginable demand in this market.
Currently, several merchants on e-commerce platforms have launched services for AI "resurrecting" deceased loved ones. One seller stated that "resurrecting" only requires a photo and a recording, with prices ranging from tens to hundreds of CNY for such services.
The product page of the merchant states: "With a similarity of over 95% in both sound and appearance, prices range from $20,000 to $80,000."
It's understood that "AI resurrection" refers to using artificial intelligence technology to input textual descriptions, images, videos, and voice data of deceased loved ones into AI algorithms, thereby simulating the creation of a digital persona with the deceased's personality, memories, images, videos, and voice.
This technology is commonly referred to in the industry as "digital companionship" or "AI digital immortality."
According to a report by CCTV News, Zeng Yi, Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Governance at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed concerns about whether having a "digital deceased" could lead people to become addicted to interacting with them, thus having significantly negative psychological impacts.
This raises long-term and potential hazards that the application of this AI technology could bring to society, prompting ethical considerations about whether we should develop such AI technology.
Experts explain that digital resurrection is a niche area of the application of generative AI technology. While embracing new technologies, it's crucial to fully safeguard and respect individual emotions and human dignity.
Would you be willing to accept or try using AI to "resurrect" deceased loved ones?
