Time Traveling with AI to Connect with Lost Loved Ones | Amy Kurzweil | TED

What if AI could bring the past to life? Cartoonist Amy Kurzweil shares how she helped train an AI chatbot on her late grandfather’s archives, allowing her to connect with a family member she never met — and discover family history she never knew. Backed by her own original drawings, she reveals the profound impact art and AI can have in keeping memories alive. (Recorded at TED2024 on April 18, 2024)

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[bishfish]

I'm pretty sure there was a Black Mirror episode about this.

[TheMagicLemur]

Just like the Black Mirror episode 'Be right back'... only without the angst of her mistaking it for the real thing.

[TheTuubster]

If you know "Star Trek: The Next Generation", this concept is already known to you, as in the series the Holodeck (you could call it "EnvironmentGPT") is able to recreate individuals using statistical probability based on documentation of their character, including all audio and video recordings and writings in the database. Several episodes show that; like the character of Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes or dead relatives like Wesley Crushers father or living (but not available) characters of a profession like Dr. Lea Brahms, the inventor of the next generation Warp Drive.

[lawrencechen]

People tend to indulge such chatbot, LLM. Pretend it thinks like human, but they are just algorithms. You cannot get the true past. But a self comfort, nothing more

[Abdysch]

I liked this talk and I'm a little bit surprised with comments. For two years I've been working on typing and expanding my grandfather's book of memoirs. He wrote so little about himself and so much about his loved ones, about our heroic ancestors and how they survived (not all of them) cruel XX century and their everyday lives. So I found this a great idea as a way to consult with my granddad's heritage and to go deeper in details and values. And she highlighted that she DOESN'T think this way allows us to bring them to life, no, AI chat isn't them

[silesiaantracyt]

I liked the speech very much. It is the message of a sensitive, intelligent brave woman - a personal, authentic, true story. This is what discrimination as well as extermination looked like in Germany. Great respect for the traumatized family

[dogmeat]

I was thinking of doing a TED talk about walking my dog. Not that walking my dog is particularly interesting in any way, so it would fit in nicely with these modern TED talks. Just boring thoughts about regular stuff with no insight or deeper meaning. Perfect.

[ClaudiaS]

This is totally interesting ❤🎉 thank you

[juliahenriques]

This very idea is instant fuel for nightmare and trauma, let alone dangerous idealisation and simplification of past actions and behaviours. It's allowing people to engage with fictional versions of historical figures without the disclaimer that it's fiction. As experiments? Great! As something on average beneficial to the general public? No way.

[HoneyBeesBand]

Initially this felt lovely, but the longer I thought about it, the more it made me realize it could keep someone in pain from moving on. And, those three dimensional images in your mind, would you damage the beauty of them with cartooning? I think I’d rather remember…

[ImSodaLirious]

Something something "Secure your Soul" from Arasaka

[ZakFromOhio]

The quality of what it takes to make a TED Talk has gone down so much...

[sick-days]

A chatbot will not fill the gaping void left behind by the loss of a loved one because it is not them and it is not real. It's artificial. Delude yourself and pretend if you like, but do so at the cost of your real memories and experiences as they get replaced by the simulacrum.

[ygoryarz]

Wow, I'm reading a lot of displeased people. In my opinion, like all technology, the problem lies in who uses it and how they use it.

If she wants to feel like she's talking to her grandfather, to get to know him a little better through interactions with an algorithm that interprets his diaries, in other cases there are those who seek solace in spiritualist sessions to contact someone who has passed away, I think the tool each person uses to grieve or to have more understanding is valid, as long as it doesn't harm others or themselves, and perhaps to an outsider it seems like an offense to the memory of the ancestor, but we won't know that, maybe the ancestor would feel good knowing that his granddaughter wants to know him a little better, maybe that's how she feels.

Regarding those who criticize the quality of the TedTalks, their criticism is also valid, there are topics that will be of interest to them and others not, if everything were homogeneous in life we would be a very boring society.

This Tedtalk didn't enchant me, but I find it interesting.

[AdvantestInc]

How do you think this technology will evolve? Could we see a future where AI preserves even more detailed aspects of our loved ones, like mannerisms or emotions?

[amermeer]

Here's a rephrased version of your comment:

"I don’t want to dismiss her personal experience, but to me, this approach feels misguided and disrespectful. If you want to connect with loved ones, why not engage with those who knew them or explore their authentic works and writings? Feeding their life’s work into a Generative AI model feels artificial, missing the essence of who they were as living, unique individuals.

Would it make sense to exhume someone's body, clone them from DNA, and hug the clone just to feel a semblance of their presence? Or ask an AI to tell you their innermost thoughts and secrets that were never documented?

This idea seems shallow and almost disrespectful. People are turning to GPT for everything these days, often at the cost of the deeper, more meaningful connections we should be preserving."

My comment from ChatGPT❤

[SuperShekky]

This is very bizzare and disrespectful to the dead.
Only thing that can animate life is Life itself. It is right.
Everything else is just scary

[feloniousbutterfly]

As a person who has lost a massive amount of my family, your AI will NEVER be able to bring them back. Your posturing is hollow. You don't even realize how soulless this is, do you? Your pockets are lined with bills, why would you?

[sabhaydua]

im sure she got this talk because of being Ray Kurzweil's Daughter

Regardless, TED should do more research into the speaker rather than just going by their family name

DISAPPOINTED 😔

[luchitacano]

This is wrong!!!! The dead one has rights. Plus griefbots impact in the most negative way the grieving process !!!