But
he later took his recordings and turned them into a "Dadbot" — a
text-based Siri that replied to queries with his father's familiar
cadence.
Now Vlahos is expanding his ambition beyond just his
father. He co-founded HereAfter in August, a company which promises to
"capture the true spirit of people and to enable their stories to become
immortal." ...The HereAfter was launched with a prototype called AndyBot, based on the still living screenwriter Andrew Kaplan.
Vlahos aims to make mombots, siblingbots, and friendbots — although whether these bots can truly represent a person's essence is debatable. Vlahos' Dadbot has limitations, and even today's more sophisticated bots, which have authentic sounding voices and animated bodies, rarely feel fully human.
Chatbots today are more sophisticated than ever,....An Indian woman asked if he could make one of her deceased son. An
Alaskan wanted to know if he could make one of himself for his
children.
"Imagine being able to stand in the kitchen and call out to your
deceased mother and have her answer right back," Vlahos told the Washington Post.
One journalist at The Atlantic wrote that she found herself telling her Google Assistant that she felt lonely. The device replied: "I wish I had arms so I could give you a hug." CBC