Artificial Intelligence Ensures Immortality of Charlie Kirk in the Eyes of Some, According to New Reports
In a unique and controversial turn of events, at least three churches across the United States – Prestonwood Baptist in Texas, Dream City Church in Arizona, and Awaken Church in San Marcos, California – played an AI-generated posthumous message from conservative commentator Charlie Kirk over the weekend.
The message, originally created by TikTok user NioScript, has since garnered millions of listens on social media and elicited a range of responses from audiences and social media users. Many have expressed belief that it is what Kirk would say if he could talk to them, while others question its authenticity.
Pastor Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist introduced the AI-generated message as something that moved him, and the video was met with a standing ovation. Audiences of Dream City Church in Arizona and Awaken Church in San Marcos also applauded the message.
However, the use of AI in memorializing the deceased raises questions about the differentiation between real memories and AI-generated ones. Some argue that there is evidence that users of "griefbots" have found some internal sense of closure with their lost loved ones, while others caution of the real risk of harming people in a fragile emotional state by using chatbots as a means of coping with loss.
The AI-message allows people to continue a parasocial relationship with Kirk, as it captures what they want to hear, not necessarily his actual voice. It is worth noting that the majority of people memorializing Kirk this way do not actually know him personally.
A recent article in Nature highlights ongoing efforts to understand if chatbots trained on a loved one's likeness can aid in the grieving process. On the other hand, a study conducted by MIT Media Lab found that AI-edited images can affect a person's memory.
The ongoing debate about how Charlie Kirk should be remembered without an AI-generated version of him is a testament to the complexities and nuances of memorialization in the digital age. Meanwhile, the AI-generated audio clip is a fabrication, not a memory, and its impact on those who have lost loved ones remains to be seen.
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