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| AI Can Now Make You Immortal – But Should It? Gadgets 36T |
But could it be that a scientific solution to the immortality
problem is already in sight? In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has
reached a stage where it appears to be revolutionizing every aspect of our
lives. It can also change how we think about death and maybe even experience
it.
Science fiction has
given us several examples of situations - mostly terrifying - where human
thoughts can be downloaded into machines, effectively allowing us to survive
our mortal and fallible bodies.
However, recent
research and developments have shown that this technology may be closer than we
think.Today, even more so, others seek to preserve elements of our personality
and spirit so that we can, at least to some degree, be a part of the lives of
those we leave behind.
So let's take a look at
some of the options that are or will be
available for those of us who want to avoid the Reaper's Blade.
Living Memories
In 2020, a Korean
documentary film crew worked with virtual reality producers to enable a
grieving mother to reconnect with her dead daughter. This trial divided public
opinion and was found by many to be appalling. However, the mother herself said
the experience helped her through the grieving process and that she has no
regrets going through it.
This reunion was
staged, and while the graphics were super realistic, Jang Ji-Sung's ability to
interact with the deceased seven-year-old was limited.
A few years later, another company (also South Korean) demonstrated artificial intelligence
technology that would potentially allow
anyone to speak and interact with the dead as if they were in the same room (or
at least as if they were with would speak to them). during a video call).
Deep Brain AI
introduced its Re;Memory platform at this year's CES. It basically works by
filming facial movements with voice
recordings and applying algorithms that generate new recordings of all
necessary interactions.
It has now been reported that the process of
creating a 3D representation of a person will cost approximately $10,000,
followed by a $1,000 fee for an hourly appointment.Since it does not answer in
real time, the call must be arranged in advance.
However, it seems that in the near future this technology will
converge with natural language platforms like ChatGPT, allowing us to talk to
the dead in real time.
The idea has certainly
met with criticism, with some claiming it simply capitalizes on the grieving or
interfering in the grieving process of the bereaved. But others agree that it's
worth thinking about, especially if it helps us navigate the grieving process.
But the benefits
probably don't end there: what if it could prevent valuable experience and
knowledge from being lost to the
uncomfortable certainty of mortality?
Digital immortality?
If Einstein had lived,
could he have used the advances in our physical knowledge that took place after his death to solve some
of the problems that scientists still face today? Would Washington or Gandhi
be able to negotiate a peace deal that would
end the conflicts currently raging around the world? What films would
Shakespeare write if he hadn't already dropped that death scroll?
Of course, one cannot
know, because these people's potential
to do good in the world ended at the same time that the electrical
activity in their brains stopped.
However, some have
suggested that if we collect enough data during a person's lifetime, we might
be able to keep that person indefinitely after their physical brain is gone.
That might not be as difficult as it sounds: Microsoft researchers Gordon Bell
and Jim Gray estimated that recording every conversation a person has in their lifetime would only
require about a terabyte of storage space.
Keeping a "digital
twin" of a deceased person would allow us to tap into their wisdom for as
long as needed. Since we are proven to do this with machine learning, there is
no reason for a “person” to stop absorbing more knowledge and improving their
understanding of the world.
Of course, the obvious
extension of this thinking is why wait
until death? If we can reproduce someone after death, we can reproduce them in life. We may have 10
or 100 Einsteins working to solve various physics problems, or a single
Shakespeare for every person on earth dedicated to creating their own stories
and games to entertain them.Do you run a business and don't have enough time to
spend at home with your family? No problem, put your digital twin to work and
keep your empire running while you can focus on what really matters.
Some of these ideas are
contained in the concept of digital eternity, an MIT research project that aims
to explore the technological and philosophical requirements for creating
digital twins that would enable us to live forever.
Shall we, though?
It should be remembered
that when photography and then film were new technologies, both were presented
by scientists and philosophers as possible solutions to the problem of
mortality.
Philosophically it is
often emphasized that death has always been a
part of life and that there is no real way of knowing what impact it
might have on our species and society if
we eliminated it. Evolution allows us to generate new ideas as new brains
emerge that are better suited to the
realities of everyday life.
On the other hand,
others argue that we might behave better if we knew that we would be here
forever—or at least for a long time—and
that we cannot expect to escape the
consequences of our actions through death.
One thing is for sure, death is a problem we will never
stop trying to solve, and as new technologies like artificial intelligence,
digital twins, and virtual reality redefine our lives, we will continue to
ponder how they can even redefine our dead.
Perhaps some of you reading this will one day experience, with the help of technology, what the future has to offer - like the sun consuming the earth in seven billion years, or the death of the universe in the distant future.
