Scared of death? What if you could leave an artificial intelligence version of yourself behind to keep your loved ones company?
Steve Endacott, an AI entrepreneur who created AI Steve – the UK’s first ‘AI MP’ candidate for Brighton Pavilion – has launched a new AI invention that lets you leave an imprint of yourself behind after you die.
Life’s Echo founders Steve and Ruth Endacott – behind Greater Manchester-based Electric Car Organisation, which helps people to transition to electric vehicles – have shared how the technology works and the features you can expect from an AI version of yourself.
Life’s Echo aims to allow people to document their lives in a way that future generations can easily access and chat with, to help understand their ancestors’ lives.
The tool utilises advanced ‘AI Voice’ technology. An AI interviewer named Sarah conducts user interviews across five 45-minute segments, covering topics such as your early life, family, education, work and career as well as your personal life, which helps to inform the technology.
Interviews are done in a conversational style, allowing the interviewer to discuss responses with users to carefully extract stories in detail, before progressing through its repertoire of over 1,000 questions.
All conversations are transcribed and leveraged by other AI tools to build a unique ‘large language model’ database for each user. This database is then used to create an ‘AI Echo’ of the user. Using a clone of the creator’s voice, invited friends and relatives are able to have discussions about their lives with a loved one after their death.
“Like most people, I am familiar with the lives of my parents and grandparents but I know nothing about my great grandparents. After three generations, knowledge of our existence almost completely vanishes,” said CEO Ruth.
“Life’s Echo will help to preserve a lasting record that allows future generations to engage with and learn intimate and very important details about our lives, key experiences, and perspectives.”
The tool is set to be launched in February 2025 by the pair, who are ‘on a mission to preserve life-long memories’.
Who is Debbie Weinstein? Google has eye on AI with new EMEA boss