A patent filed by Microsoft proposes to use data collected on a person, from photos and voice recordings to electronic messages and even written letters, to create a chatbot of the person — even when they’re dead.
The novel technology could enable a person to carry out “conversations” in their real voice from the after-life, including using 2-D and 3-D images to recreate their body. While some grief-stricken folks might think it’s a great idea for getting back a person they’ve lost, the idea poses a number of ethical and privacy questions.
Virtual immortality like this isn’t currently regulated, so just about anything could happen, data experts say. This sort of chatbot opens a whole can of worms when it comes to data rights and privacy. "Technically, we can recreate anyone online given enough data," Faheem Hussain, a clinical assistant professor at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, told Reuters in April 2020. "That opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical implications."
SOURCES:
Popular Mechanics January 13, 2021
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office December 1, 2020
Reuters April 17, 2020