Gary! Wow this is cool! Thanks so much for sharing this! I'm going to check this out. I have a close friend who did long form video interviews with his relatives. This could be a cool extension of that. Thanks!
I'm honestly a bit torn on this, and these rambling thoughts are all over the place. Maybe an LLM could put them in a better order. :)
I'm torn on this. From a tech standpoint, I love the idea. In many ways, it's just a modern form of a journal. But maybe the great thing about reading journals and letters is that you create your own narrative around it? It would be cool to have a connection to someone you loved.
From a humanity standpoint, I think that losing someone is what makes us innately human. Dealing with grief, and remembering them in our own way. As you've said before, our memories are flawed, but that's also what makes them ours.
Maybe having the AI version of you would be the most idealized version of you, which could be better or worse for Lane, but probably different than the reality. For example, would AI also lose it's (your) temper? Would it break down in tears, showing fragility? Would it get drunk at his wedding and dance like Michael Jackson? Those memories are ones that I would want, showing the imperfections.
Bil, As always, your comments are thoughtful and articulate. I share all of those same concerns. You're totally right, grief is an important part of life. The AI version of ourselves and others definitely won't be perfect. As our friend Marty and you pointed out, they won't evolve. They will be stuck representing a specific point in time of your views. I think one of the things I like about this possibility is that maybe lane could talk to me at different ages. What I mean is... I used to have a journal way back in the day when Blogger was popular. Now I look back at those posts and cringe because I am so different now. But maybe it would be good for Lane to be able to talk to a 15 year old me? A 25 year old me? ... Or maybe that would be awful? I'm really not sure. But I want to give him all the tools so that he can make the decision on what he wants to use and what he doesn't want to use.
Interesting thoughts about talking to 15 year old you, 25 year old you, etc. Sometimes I show my 16 year old son pictures of me when I was his age and try to tell him how we were similar/different and sometimes I wonder if we would have been friends.
Interesting to think about Lane being able to see the 'current' you as well as interact with various you's along the way while knowing 'the end of the story'.
Interesting Bil to point out the authentic version of a father flaws and all vs. an idealized father. Seems most people would take the idealized father without a second thought, however maybe there is a lot of value in seeing the flaws in our parents/heroes.
Thought-provoking post! Creative use of AI as a new tool! The way you're harnessing AI as a tool for legacy preservation is not only creative but shows how deeply thoughtful you are as a father. It reminds me of the traditional practice where people leave letters for their children to read at significant life moments. While I haven't experienced the loss of a parent, I understand that many find profound inspiration and guidance in their parents' wisdom, especially when they're no longer around.
The interactive aspect of your AI concept elevates this traditional practice to a remarkable new level. It's fascinating to think that Lane could receive advice and insights from a version of you, tailored to his unique experiences and needs. This is more than just revisiting old letters or photos; it’s an interactive experience with what could be perceived as 'the essence' of you. The potential for this to include voice or video in the future adds even more depth to this interaction.
I recently integrated my Enneagram Type into my ChatGPT custom instructions. This enhanced the relevance of the responses. I also discovered ChatGPT could infer aspects about me and my personality from a list of 20-40 of my favorite movies. These experiences make me curious about how your process of training and refining your AI will unfold, and how accurately it will emulate your responses to various questions. My intuition is that you'll be pleased with the results, even with limited input, but that’s just my intuition. I’m eager to hear about your experiments and the outcomes of your innovative project.
Hey, Travis - There is already a company offering this sort of service. I had them on my podcast. https://deadpixelssociety.buzzsprout.com/964492/9663765-preserving-interactive-family-stories-with-heather-maio-smith-ceo-and-co-founder-storyfile
Gary! Wow this is cool! Thanks so much for sharing this! I'm going to check this out. I have a close friend who did long form video interviews with his relatives. This could be a cool extension of that. Thanks!
I'm honestly a bit torn on this, and these rambling thoughts are all over the place. Maybe an LLM could put them in a better order. :)
I'm torn on this. From a tech standpoint, I love the idea. In many ways, it's just a modern form of a journal. But maybe the great thing about reading journals and letters is that you create your own narrative around it? It would be cool to have a connection to someone you loved.
From a humanity standpoint, I think that losing someone is what makes us innately human. Dealing with grief, and remembering them in our own way. As you've said before, our memories are flawed, but that's also what makes them ours.
Maybe having the AI version of you would be the most idealized version of you, which could be better or worse for Lane, but probably different than the reality. For example, would AI also lose it's (your) temper? Would it break down in tears, showing fragility? Would it get drunk at his wedding and dance like Michael Jackson? Those memories are ones that I would want, showing the imperfections.
Bil, As always, your comments are thoughtful and articulate. I share all of those same concerns. You're totally right, grief is an important part of life. The AI version of ourselves and others definitely won't be perfect. As our friend Marty and you pointed out, they won't evolve. They will be stuck representing a specific point in time of your views. I think one of the things I like about this possibility is that maybe lane could talk to me at different ages. What I mean is... I used to have a journal way back in the day when Blogger was popular. Now I look back at those posts and cringe because I am so different now. But maybe it would be good for Lane to be able to talk to a 15 year old me? A 25 year old me? ... Or maybe that would be awful? I'm really not sure. But I want to give him all the tools so that he can make the decision on what he wants to use and what he doesn't want to use.
I always love your comments.
Interesting thoughts about talking to 15 year old you, 25 year old you, etc. Sometimes I show my 16 year old son pictures of me when I was his age and try to tell him how we were similar/different and sometimes I wonder if we would have been friends.
Interesting to think about Lane being able to see the 'current' you as well as interact with various you's along the way while knowing 'the end of the story'.
Interesting Bil to point out the authentic version of a father flaws and all vs. an idealized father. Seems most people would take the idealized father without a second thought, however maybe there is a lot of value in seeing the flaws in our parents/heroes.
Reminds me of this podcast I heard recently https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/the-unhappy-millionaire that talked about how counterintuitively realizing our dreams like winning the lottery, or becoming mega-rich is often life changing in a bad way while nightmare scenarios are life changing in a good way.
So maybe you are on to something with an idealized 'father' being worse....
Interesting!
Wow, that was a great podcast. Thanks David!
Thought-provoking post! Creative use of AI as a new tool! The way you're harnessing AI as a tool for legacy preservation is not only creative but shows how deeply thoughtful you are as a father. It reminds me of the traditional practice where people leave letters for their children to read at significant life moments. While I haven't experienced the loss of a parent, I understand that many find profound inspiration and guidance in their parents' wisdom, especially when they're no longer around.
The interactive aspect of your AI concept elevates this traditional practice to a remarkable new level. It's fascinating to think that Lane could receive advice and insights from a version of you, tailored to his unique experiences and needs. This is more than just revisiting old letters or photos; it’s an interactive experience with what could be perceived as 'the essence' of you. The potential for this to include voice or video in the future adds even more depth to this interaction.
I recently integrated my Enneagram Type into my ChatGPT custom instructions. This enhanced the relevance of the responses. I also discovered ChatGPT could infer aspects about me and my personality from a list of 20-40 of my favorite movies. These experiences make me curious about how your process of training and refining your AI will unfold, and how accurately it will emulate your responses to various questions. My intuition is that you'll be pleased with the results, even with limited input, but that’s just my intuition. I’m eager to hear about your experiments and the outcomes of your innovative project.