Roman Mazurenko, a R Belarussian-born entrepreneur, was run down by a speeding car on a Moscow street in November 2015. In his early 30s at the time, Mazurenko died from his injuries later that day at a nearby hospital. Soon after, his techie mates gathered to remember him. But one of them, San Francisco-based Eugenia Kuyda, wasn't content with memories alone.
She set out to use the artificial intelligence chatbot she was developing to handle restaurant reservations to recreate her dead friend digitally. Mazurenko hadn't been a big user of social media networks, but was a prolific texter. Kuyda used those texts, dating as far back as 2008, and others Mazurenko had sent to his circle of friends to help a neural network learn his personality.
"She fed them into an AI chatbot, made that available as an app so that anyone can download Roman Mazurenko for free on their phones and chat with a dead man," Patrick Stokes, associate professor of philosophy at Deakin University last week told the audience at SXSW Sydney, the Asia-Pacific arm of SXSW, a media and music conference and festival.
Denne historien er fra November 04-10 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra November 04-10 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
