You’ve probably heard by now that Jim Acosta interviewed an AI depiction of a dead school shooting victim on Monday. Beyond the uncanny valley stuff, there are actual harms associated with so-called griefbots — some researchers even warn of “digital hauntings” that prolong grief.
Beyond the implications for individuals, there are also profound societal implications that are not being addressed, as tech companies push these disturbing creations out there with no policies to regulate them or deal with accompanying harms.
There are also serious questions about how these AI creations are being used. For example, the father of Joaquin Oliver said he plans to create social media accounts for his AI son so he can use his voice to advocate for gun control. This is a totally new form of influence.
One of the few studies that has looked at the influence of AI resurrection on public perception found that using resurrected victim videos boosts policy support by 25% more than text only testimonials and increases the credibility of the message. That’s kind of terrifying.
This isn’t even the first time this has happened. Last year, a group of parents of Parkland victims launched a robocalling campaign using their dead children’s voices to lobby Congress. Some of the AI voices even issued what sounded like threats of harassment against Congress.
And this doesn’t even touch on issues of privacy, data ownership, the right to be forgotten, the right to own your own legacy, and other issues that are raised when someone uses your likeness, including your picture and voice, without your consent, after your death.
And that brings us to another very uncomfortable question. If, at some point, Joaquin’s parents decide that the AI persona they created is worsening their grief or no longer what they need, what will the experience be like when they have to kill off their dead son’s AI persona?
It gets grim fast. At the very least, we should slow down the production of such profoundly disturbing creations until we have the policies and laws in place to deal with the many uncomfortable questions that come along with a practice like AI revival.
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