Grandson 'resurrects' dead grandmother using AI, causing a storm online in China

A video with audio of a conversation between a 24-year-old man surnamed Wu and the Ai version of his deceased grandmother has gone viral on social media platforms in recent days, SCMP reported.

Wu (24 years old) with an AI version of his grandmother

"Grandma, this year, Dad and I will go back to our hometown to celebrate Tet with you. What did you talk about when Dad called last time?" Wu said in the recording.

'Grandma told your dad not to drink anymore. To save money and not to gamble,' the AI-generated grandmother replied.

"That's right, you have to teach my dad a lesson. He's over 50 years old but he drinks every day. He doesn't even have any savings. Tet is coming soon, have you done any shopping yet?" , the nephew continued.

"I bought two bottles of cooking oil. It's pressed by farmers. It smells great. It's 75 yuan a bottle," she replied.

In the video chat, the grandmother has an attentive expression as if she is listening and her mouth moves every time someone speaks.

Wu said he had a very close relationship with his grandmother, who wanted to raise him after his parents divorced. His grandmother passed away in January this year from Covid-19 at the age of 84.

When she fell ill, Wu returned to his hometown in southern China and worked as a visual arts designer. He stayed by her bedside for 15 days but never had a chance to say goodbye as she remained in a coma until her death.

Wu uses photos and old conversation recordings to "resurrect" his deceased grandmother.

Struggling to overcome the pain of losing his beloved grandmother, Wu came up with the idea of ​​"reviving" her using AI technology.

He used software and old photos to create an animation of her. Wu then trained the AI ​​to mimic her voice using recordings of their past phone conversations.

Wu also spent some time talking to ChatGPT to figure out how to make AI behave like her grandmother.

"I shared many details about my grandmother's life with ChatGPT, hoping it could understand her family background and way of speaking so it could communicate with me in my grandmother's tone of voice ," Wu said.

Currently, his "grandmother" can only have simple conversations. When Wu speaks in complex terms, the AI ​​cannot understand.

Wu said his "resurrection of her" project was just for psychological comfort. "But I feel happier when I can see her and talk to her more."

The story has attracted the attention of millions of Chinese internet users and created many controversial opinions.

"I'm on his side. But I'm not sure I would, it makes me sad," one user said.

Another person said: " It's a way to relieve sadness. What he does is very meaningful. After all, being friends with Ai is also a form of companionship."

However, some opinions say that we should face the reality, the matter of life and death. "That is not the real grandmother. I think he should let her rest in peace and keep the beautiful memories in his heart."