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Startup Out of MIT Promises Digital Afterlife — Just Hand Over Your Data

Posted by timothy on from the ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-nsa dept.

v3rgEz writes "A new startup out of MIT offers early adopters a chance at the afterlife, of sorts: It promises to build an AI representation of the dearly departed based on chat logs, email, Facebook, and other digital exhaust generated over the years. "Eterni.me generates a virtual YOU, an avatar that emulates your personality and can interact with, and offer information and advice to your family and friends after you pass away," the team promises. But can a chat bot plus big data really produce anything beyond a creepy, awkward facsimile?"

48 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. No. by damn_registrars · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But can a chat bot plus big data really produce anything beyond a creepy, awkward facsimile?"

    No, it cannot. Once you're dead, you're dead. Game over.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:No. by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know... most of the people I know that use Twitter and Facebook heavily have slightly less personality than most software.

    2. Re:No. by dmbasso · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, it cannot. Once you're dead, you're dead. Game over.

      True that. I doubt any software can truly emulate the nuance of human personality based solely on pictures and tweets.

      Actually it is worse than that. People should learn to grieve and then go on with their lives. A bot would only hinder this necessary mental healing process.

      --
      `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
    3. Re:No. by jdbuz · · Score: 5, Funny

      I just want it to keep updating my FB status with predetermined posts such as, "Wow! Who knew they had free Wi-Fi up here?"

    4. Re:No. by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 2

      Well if you do it right and use brain state rather than just tweets and facebook posts, then you don't need to greive at all, because you'd still be alive, and your consciousness would be housed in a silicon brain rather than a meat brain.

    5. Re:No. by bob_super · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'll take "Cool, all the promiscuous girls are down here!"

    6. Re:No. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well if you do it right and use brain state rather than just tweets and facebook posts, then you don't need to greive at all, because you'd still be alive, and your consciousness would be housed in a silicon brain rather than a meat brain.

      And how exactly would you be transferring said "consciousness" into that silicon brain? A copy of a brain and it's mind is not the original consciousness. And even if in some fantasy a consciousness generator (BEC or somesuch) were inlined into the system it still would not be the original persons consciousness, merely another one with the same memories etc. The original person, consciousness, would still be dead or whatever and you'd be living with a lie, which granted is enough for most people..

    7. Re:No. by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 2

      And if you had a silicon copy of yourself, would you be willing to kill the meat-you? No? Then I'd say a brain-state copy isn't you, it's a copy.

      I would not be willing to kill the meat me. This is because I have evolved some pretty sophisticated self preservation instincts. That doesn't mean the copy can;t *also* be me. There is no rule of the universe that says there can be only 1 me. If I copied myself, I'm sure the meat me, would be sad that he is still going to die of old age. The silicon me will be ecstatic that the copying process worked.

      It's easy to say that the meat me is the *real* me. But I think a more appropriate way to look at the situation is that we are constantly changing into different people. The present me is a new person that came from the me from a moment ago. The future me is a new me that is going to come from the present me in a moment. A copy is a scenario where there are 2 future me's rather than only 1. Unfortunately the biological copy has some limitations and is going to die.

      Looking at it this way I think clears up some confusion. You asked would *I* be willing to kill the meat me. This presupposes that *I* will be only 1 of the 2 copies, which is wrong. If there are 2 of me, they would both not want to die equally. One of the copies would be better able to achieve that goal.

      In short, either all this business about a continuous, individual consciousness is largely illusory or we just don't understand the phenomenon very well at all yet.

      There is lots of things we *do* understand. We understand that the atoms that make up our brain are constantly changing. New ones come in and old ones go out. Some of the atoms in our brain belonged to other people's brains (some of which are probably even still alive). It is pretty clear that what makes you you is not the physical atoms. If this were true then you are definitely not the same person moment to moment.

      The only other alternative is that it is the configuration of the atoms that is you. This explains why you feel like the same person even though your atoms are constantly changing. This also makes people unfomfortable because it also implies that you can be copied because your particular configuration can just as easily be made from different atoms. But this discomfort is not a good reason to believe this idea is wrong.

      Also if the configuration is what makes you you, what does it mean if you can make a different configuration that has the same functional effect (i.e. a silicon copy). It acts like you, it has the same feelings, taste in music, loves the same peoople, has the same memories. Even if you want to call this thing a mere "copy", it would appear to be a copy that's as good as the original. There would be in my view as much utility in distinguishing these copies as there would be in trying to figure out which one of every set of identical twins got the soul.

  2. Arnold Rimmer sir... by ravenscar · · Score: 2

    Reporting for duty.

    "Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast."

  3. Yikes by Bovius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Holy balls that is creepy. At best, this would really weird people out who knew the dearly departed. At worst, it would provide a hook for traumatized loved ones to avoid dealing with the grief and get increasingly bottled up in a fantasy world.

    It is difficult for me to imagine ways in which this would be a good thing.

    1. Re:Yikes by TWiTfan · · Score: 2

      it would provide a hook for traumatized loved ones to avoid dealing with the grief and get increasingly bottled up in a fantasy world.

      Joseph Adama in Caprica was creepily portrayed as having done just that with his dead daughter, with rather disturbing results.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    2. Re:Yikes by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      My friends and family would say "he never writes or tweets or chats, it's almost like he's still with us!"

  4. Re:All of this has happened before... by randomhacks · · Score: 5, Informative

    You're right. Channel 4 (UK) Black Mirror - Episode 1: "Martha and Ash are a young couple who move to a remote cottage. The day after the move, Ash is killed, returning the hire van. At the funeral, Martha's friend Sarah tells her about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased. By using all his past online communications and social media profiles, a new 'Ash' can be created. Martha is disgusted by the concept but then in a confused and lonely state she decides to talk to 'him'..." Definitively worth watching.

  5. Before death? by WPIDalamar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can I get this before I die? I hate talking with people sometimes.

    1. Re:Before death? by Ichijo · · Score: 4, Funny

      A chatty avatar version of me that keeps people on the phone as long as possible without committing to anything would be a great way to get telemarketers to stop calling. Maybe even better than Lenny. As a bonus, it would be seamless: just push a button in the middle of a conversation and the avatar would take over without the caller knowing.

      MIT, please make it happen.

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    2. Re:Before death? by psithurism · · Score: 2

      Can I get this before I die

      And for people who aren't dead?

      I.e. can I get this to replace my long distance X-girlfriend? Or would it also decide I'm getting too creepy and we need to break up?

      I can't be the only slashdotter that wants it for this purpose.

  6. Online and RL personalities are different by Calavar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Even if these guys could make an AI algorithm that is 100% accurate if given the correct input, internet posts are not the best seed data. People tend to be dicks on the internet. I'm pretty sure most people would not like to interact with the online versions of their departed loved ones.

    1. Re:Online and RL personalities are different by mark-t · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm inclined to think that in general, people who act like dicks on the internet are actually dicks in real life who at best, possibly for reasons of conformity, may just be curbing their tendency towards being a dick around people they meet in real life to avoid the potential social and cultural complications. That doesn't mean that's who they really are, however.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    2. Re:Online and RL personalities are different by mark-t · · Score: 2

      Actually, I was talking about anybody who acts like a dick online... generally a person who would call somebody that they didn't know a moron online because they said something amazingly stupid or uninformed but never to their face for the same reason is usually just somebody who is trying to avoid the social complications that would arise from such namecalling, and is not really any less of a dick just because they are wise enough to recognize that it's socially inappropriate in such contexts.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  7. Just like the Vu-Age church! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    From the Max Headroom episode Deities.

  8. Interesting. by Eric+S.+Smith · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tell me more about can a chat bot plus big data really produce anything beyond a creepy, awkward facsimile?

    --
    Mind the Gap
  9. Caprica by stewsters · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Caprica. Watch it. Doesn't end well.

  10. And why would I care? by holophrastic · · Score: 2

    So I'm dead. Why do I care about this? And why would I choose to spend money on it now?
    And what if I want to retain my own intellectual property when I'm dead? Can I install a web-server in my tomb-stone to host this thing?

    Oh wait, there is no tomb-stone -- again, because I'm dead so why would I want one?
    Hey look! It's another service to rape and impoverish people who have zero self-esteem in the first place!

    Don't worry. You can suck in this life. In your afterlife, you'll be wise and useful.
    Hey look! It's another religious promise!

    Last I checked, a facsimile after death is called a zombie.

  11. "Black Mirror" episode by MDMurphy · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is the basis of S02E01 of "Black Mirror"
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...

    The episode did a pretty good representation of the idea, showing things that the the dearly departed's avatar would know and not know based on their chat and email history.

  12. Sounds like Harry Potter by CatsupBoy · · Score: 2

    Really reminds me of that moment where harry potter talks to his loved ones before going to die in the woods (sorry for crappy ref, i'm not a huge potter buf). He isnt really experiencing something new with them hes just talking with them and they are giving him reassurance.

    On the surface of course this sounds creepy, but its amazing how easy it is to comfort that "human" side of your brain. In a similar manner this would provide someone pretty much the same thing. You know, kinda like, if it sounds like joe, acts like joe, says something i think joe might say, then you can probably be reconnected in that small way, relieving your pain in a small way.

    I think anything that has the potential to ease suffering probably has a future.

  13. Re:PRON!! by SJHillman · · Score: 2

    Not even a robot will want to want C-SPAN

  14. Dixie Flatline by SpectreBlofeld · · Score: 3, Interesting

    `How you doing, Dixie?'
        `I'm dead, Case. Got enough time in on this Hosaka to
    figure that one.'
        `How's it feel?'
        `It doesn't.'
        `Bother you?'
        `What bothers me is, nothin'~ does.'
        `How's that?'
        `Had me this buddy in the Russian camp, Siberia, his thumb
    was frostbit. Medics came by and they cut it off. Month later
    he's tossin'~ all night. Elroy, I said, what's eatin'~ you? Goddam
    thumb's itchin'~, he says. So I told him, scratch it. McCoy, he
    says, it's the _other_ goddam thumb.' When the construct laughed,
    it came through as something else, not laughter, but a stab of
    cold down Case's spine. `Do me a favor, boy.'
        `What's that, Dix?'
        `This scam of yours, when it's over, you erase this goddam
    thing.'

    -Neuromancer

  15. Where have i seen this before? by wed128 · · Score: 2

    I'm sorry. My responses are limited. You must ask the right questions.

  16. who are you calling a "facsimile"?!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't know, "creepy" and "awkward" gets you 97% there for most of this audience.

  17. Bought Out by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

    Let's say that the best case scenario happens and they're actually able to do this. You've now got chat bots functioning as long-dead people chatting away with living people. So far so good. Of course, the technology to do this would be impressive and would attract the attention of "the big boys." How long before they get bought out by Facebook or Google (or some other company)? How much longer after that until the chat bots get monetized? Perhaps by increasing the likelihood that a chat bot would mention a specific brand name instead of a general product that the formerly living person was interested in or perhaps by just blurting out random product callouts. Even if the monetization doesn't happen, how long until the entire project is folded into some other group and the chat bots get shut down for good?

    Even if they manage to do this, I don't see this lasting for long enough for many of the participants to actually die and be "resurrected" as chat bots.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  18. Awkward and Creepy? by Hatta · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, at least they can recreate the readership of /.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  19. Jack McDevitt invented this already. by sconeu · · Score: 2

    The "avatars" in the Alex Benedict series.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  20. Fascinating what can get funding by gweihir · · Score: 2

    This is, of course, utter nonsense. Not only is technology not advanced enough to do anything like this, the data required is unsuitable for the task for any but the most shallow individuals.

    That even a nearly perfect simulacrum would not be you is obvious.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  21. Re:All of this has happened before... by TWiTfan · · Score: 3, Funny

    I seem to recall a similar situation when someone tried creating such an avatar back on Caprica.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  22. Caprica by TWiTfan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Entire series.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  23. Re:I notice a distinct lack of timeline on this... by leftover · · Score: 2

    1. Sell empty promises now.
    2. Wait for your "customers" to die.
    3. No 'Profit!' because you bolted with the money during Step 2.

    Look for them to avoid any preview of the avatar,

    --
    Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
  24. All that data by laie_techie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Do you trust any company with all the data it would take to train the AI? Do you trust the employees of that company not to read your emails and online posts and use it against you before you die? Do you trust their servers not to get hacked resulting in massive identity theft?

  25. This is sad by EMG+at+MU · · Score: 2

    I just think this is sad. When I become worm food I hope people find solace in their memories of me, the good times we had together, the adventures we went on. My life is defined by what I do in meatspace, not what digital excrement is left over in cyberspace. So many people are living more and more of their lives online, if your legacy is chat logs and facebook posts god dammit did you really live? Facebook isn't you, it is a digital representation of what you want other people to think you are

  26. Yea, that's how they cylons turned against us... by CppDeveloper · · Score: 2

    Or was I the only one that watched Caprica...

  27. Re:NSA by DeadDecoy · · Score: 2

    Great. The last thing I want is for the NSA to be spying on my virtual avatar self. He's probably out there in WoW planning some terrorist act.

  28. I am the Slashdotter,Please describe your problems by Dogtanian · · Score: 5, Funny

    An argument has been made (by both myself and others) that at least one slashdot user is a script already. Not necessarily an intelligent one, but a script nonetheless.

    Does it bother you that an argument has been made (by both yourself and others) that at least one slashdot user is a script already?

    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  29. This can't possibly go wrong. by Minwee · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Honey? Your dad's on the phone again. He wants you to switch to a new insurance carrier, and hire someone to have the carpets cleaned."

  30. anything beyond a creepy, awkward facsimile? by Arancaytar · · Score: 2

    Nope.

    You can't even pass the Turing test yet, let alone represent a brain state digitally, and you want to recreate a person based on text data? This is to mind uploading what ELIZA is to artificial intelligence.

  31. Re:Yet this is exactly what Ray Kurzweil wants to by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

    This is exactly what Ray Kurzweil wants to do with his father.

    Does Ray Kurzweil's father have anything to say about this?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  32. Yes...it's wonderful, isn't it! by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

    Pfft. Go back to the Max Headroom episode "Deities" in 1987.

  33. Reminds me of Cyteen by Caladrius · · Score: 2

    Obviously a digital version is not as good as imprinting a clone with your life's history, but give cloning a few more decades ..

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

  34. Re:Of course it can! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Of course it can! Why the resistance? Human-level AI will exist by the time young people reading this are dead. Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future was, more or less, right.

    How ironic that you should mention Max Headroom. Perhaps you forgot though that the episode where a company was doing exactly this was just a scam? They just used the deceased's image and had it parroting some phrases, essentially a really bad chat-bot, whereas they were advertising that they had made a perfect copy of them and were keeping them "alive" for a price.

    btw: The Max Headroom AI was created by accident. The scientists at that time did not know how to make that level of AI on demand.

  35. They could start with Bucky Fuller by spiritplumber · · Score: 2

    He is the best-documented human that ever lived, by his own decision. If they can get something out of his Chronofile, as a proof of concept, then it's interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...

    --
    Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.