I predict a memory bot built into a 3D printed bust of a loved one will be a hot Christmas gift within 5 years. It will have a better name than the Alexa Heritage Bust. Maybe EchoMomento or SoulSavant. A memory bot is a chatbot that simulates conversations with their departed loved ones. It does this by training the AI on past communications, photos, and recorded voice messages. They can then respond in ways that mimic the departed, providing a sense of ongoing connection and generally weirding you out. I suspect our first memory bots will be rough around the edges, generally underwhelm, and likely embarrass us. I hope so, because few things make you feel as alive as a really awkward moment.
Early versions of ChatGPT, Bard, and Gemini certainly created some awkward moments as they debuted so I’m sure there is more to come. I look forward to having that grandpa who told off-color jokes (before we knew they were off-color), recorded his readings of Robert Service poems, and left us too early, sitting in my kitchen. I’m not sure my wife would feel the same but I’m master of my domain here in substack. In the kitchen the SoulSavant of Charlie Woods will sit.
Note: The source of this cartoon idea is the book Artificial by Amy Kurzweil. In it, she and her father, Ray Kurzweil, create a memory bot of her grandfather, Fred Kurzweil. I recommend the book and her class on Patreon.
Note #2: The pretzel joke is a slight modification of a Mike Birbiglia joke. A favorite of mine.
Great write up!