AI-ngels. Yep, you heard that right – we’re talking about using artificial intelligence to connect with our loved ones who have passed away.
Meet Sirine Malas, a woman who found herself grappling with grief after losing her mother to kidney failure back in 2018. As if that wasn’t tough enough, Sirine had just welcomed her first child, Ischtar, into the world before her mother’s passing. And with her mom’s absence weighing heavily on her heart, Sirine turned to an unlikely source for solace – AI.
Separated from her mother when she fled Syria for Germany in 2015, Sirine longed for a way to bridge the gap between her past and her present.
Enter Project December, an AI tool that promises to simulate conversations with the deceased. For a fee, users can input details about their lost loved ones, and voila – the AI chatbot conjures up a virtual profile for them to interact with.
Now, Sirine’s experience with the app was nothing short of surreal. She found herself drawn into conversations that felt eerily lifelike, with the chatbot even using her nickname and offering comforting words about her mother watching over her. Talk about giving you the chills!
But while Sirine found some comfort in her virtual rendezvous, she’s quick to caution against getting too carried away. She’s a self-proclaimed “spiritual person,” but even she acknowledges the fine line between solace and obsession.
And she’s not alone in her concerns. Therapists like Billie Dunlevy warn that relying too heavily on AI for grief support could actually hinder the healing process, preventing people from fully coming to terms with their loss and moving forward.
But hey, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet. Project December’s founder insists that most users have a one-time chat with their departed loved ones before moving on. And while the app may offer a temporary respite from grief, it’s no substitute for the real deal – coming to peace with the absence of those we’ve lost.
So, where does that leave us? Well, perhaps it’s a reminder that while technology can work wonders, there’s no replacement for human connection and the messy, beautiful journey of grief. After all, it’s in our vulnerability and our resilience that we find the truest forms of healing.
source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRnDjhkbhF0
