So far, 2021 is starting to look just as strange as 2020 was.  This story just helps to prove that point.

According to Popular Mechanics, when you die, Microsoft wants to turn you into a robot!  Well, kind of...  Not a robot robot, but an artificial intelligence Chatbot.  What they want to do is turn you into a chatbot.

Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent to Microsoft that outlines a process to create a conversational chatbot of a specific person using their social media data.  Basically, the company could use your social media posts, pictures, videos, and searches to create a pseudo-AI version of you.  Then, your friends and loved ones can have conversations with you.

Kind of cool, kind of creepy, right?  Well, here's where it gets a little creepier.  The company plans to use pictures and videos to create 2D or 3D images of you and synthesize your voice during the interactions with your friends and family.

No word on when this process would be available or how much it will cost.

Assuming you added more data (other than just social media posts and videos), I can think of a bunch of other applications for this process.  For example, when prepping for political debates, in trying to determine whether two people would make a good couple, or in what strategy a coach will use during a football game.

I wonder where the idea for this came from?  Recently, a few TV shows have covered a similar topic.  It sounds a lot like the plot of Amazon's "Upload" and an episode of "Black Mirror" called "Be Right Back"

What do you think?  Would you ever do this?  What you want to have the option of having your loved one turned into an AI so you could keep him or her around after they passed away?  Let us know by sending a message through our app on on Facebook.

 

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