This AI app can recreate loved ones, including deceased relatives
AI-driven app, "Vera AI," is generating buzz with its audacious pledge to let users digitally recreate their loved ones. The app's promotional materials on the Google Play Store suggest its potential use for sustaining connections with those who are no longer alive. It states, "recreate someone you miss... and keep talking without limits." A screenshot from the app showcases an AI chatbot named "Granma Ellie" asking, "How is your dad doing recently?"
AI utilization in bridging the gap to the afterlife
The concept of using AI as a conduit to the afterlife is not new. In 2022, an "AI-enabled holographic conversational video experience" allowed a deceased woman to virtually attend her own funeral. Another service, Seance AI, also purports to use AI to resurrect the dead. Additionally, AI chatbots have been employed for fostering relationships ranging from casual friendships to deep romances on platforms like Replika.
Approach deemed daring yet unpolished
Vera AI's approach has been considered less refined and unusually bold. The description of the app remains vague about its process of digitally reviving loved ones. Under "Step 2: create your AI friend," the app asks some befuddling questions such as "What are his passions? And his fears? What's his personality like?" These questions suggest that providing more information about the person might be able to enhance the conversations.
Bending spoons linked to Vera AI's development
The support email listed on Vera AI's Google Play Store page traces back to Bending Spoons, an Italian software company renowned for its proficiency in AI-powered photo editing apps and other AI tools. The type of data that Vera AI uses to train its chatbots remains unclear. A prior iteration of the app's Google Play page mentioned that the app could access the "contents of your USB storage," encompassing "photos, media, and files."
