So this is very weird. Microsoft just patented a process that would allow them to create a "chat bot", that is an automated system of responding to questions, suggestions etc, with a dead person's details. If that person had a large enough online presence, they will use their images, ideas and "voice" to continue to respond, even after death.
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| One of many of his books |
What is weird as hell is NOT that idea. What is weird is that an author I read, Jack McDevitt, uses this system all the time. He writes science fiction, and has one series where the lead is an archeologist / detective looking for antiques in the far far future. He will often quiz dead people's avatars (which is just like what Microsoft patented) but with a Hologram involved.
In Jack's future worlds, people load these avatar's with the latest information about a person. So the Avatar's can't create new memories, just what they knew at the time of recording (or death).
Now in Jack's future worlds, these are not (usually) created as memorials, but are made while the person is still alive. They are a bit like automated answer machines / personal assistants. But, they continue after death.
Weird!
60 Minutes did a report on a company that videotaped interviews with holocaust survivors and the end products will allow people to "see" them and ask them questions about their experiences after they are dead. Sounds similar. Fascinating stuff.
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