I have weeks to live — thanks to AI, my family can talk to me forever.

Human interest

by the Alex Mitchell

Michael Bomer's days are numbered but his presence will live on – thanks to artificial intelligence.

Everything changed for Baumer, a 61-year-old software designer from Berlin, Germany, when he was diagnosed with colon cancer two years ago. After many procedures and ups and downs, the married father of four recently agreed that the next few weeks are likely to be his last.

But his family will never truly have to say goodbye: Boomer feeds his deep memories, speech patterns and overall knowledge into a first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art AI program – to complete before he passes on. Worked very quickly.

“It's giving me a chance to leave my memories in the vault,” he told The Post.

Weeks of testing the novel AI have shown accuracy in the space of how it can rationalize and speak like a boomer.

Boomer's decision to enter his likeness directly from a computer is timeless, but the long-suffering, yet hopeful father said there was a simple reason he agreed to it all: something he What he will miss most is telling his loved ones about life, society and history. Boomer plays the role of the patriarch of his family.

“Now I'm very sad that I can't be the explainer for the family — the one where the kids and grandkids come and say, 'Hey, explain the world to me.'

He is also desperate to not only ease his family's pain but perhaps give them a voice of advice when they need it most.

Now, through this emerging technology, he can do just that – forever.

“It gives me such closure,” Boomer, who is bilingual, said.

'The beginning of forever?'

It all started in March when Boomer posted an emotional note on social media, revealing that his time was short.

The note caught the attention of an old friend and colleague, Robert Locascio, founder of LivePerson, a publicly traded AI service.

LoCascio—inspired by the loss of his father—spent a year developing Eternos.life, an AI program that allows people to interact with digital replicas of loved ones through their voice and words.

The user-friendly format is practically the same as writing prompts with ChatGPT, only responses come in both text and speech, an important concept that he believes can help heal and comfort those grieving the loss of a loved one. Help will come.

Upon hearing the news of Boomer's misfortune, LoCascio reached out to his longtime friend and asked the historic question—would you like to be immortalized in an AI?

She said yes in a heartbeat.

“I'm not a memoir guy. I'm not a memoir guy,'' he said. “I'm a technology guy, I love technology, I've seen what that technology can do in the past, and I am absolutely delighted with this opportunity.”

Knowing that he will be included digitally, Boomer takes comfort in the fact that Eternos.life is a secure program that only approved loved ones can access.

“We basically had to do two things. One was, how do we take everything away from this person? LoCascio told The Post, adding that his team had to “accelerate development” until Boomer is alive.

How man becomes a machine.

Speaking into a microphone and often surrounded by loved ones, Boomer engaged in several interviews about his life from school to adulthood. They varied from Bomer's personal history to more intimate moments like how he proposed to his wife.

“The other part is we get about 300. [vocal] The training phrases are what make it AI,” LoCascio added.

Boomer recited phrases with specific emotional implications so that he would say something like “Close the door” that sounded different than he would say “I love you!”

He and his entire family were puzzled as to how the program managed to capture its essence accurately.

“We were sitting here doing the first test very early in the process and my wife said, 'Hey, it's you,'” said Boomer, adding that they were also phrases he had never spoken — German. And in English.

LoCascio explained the AI's functions in three parts: talking about Boomer's life and times, allowing his virtual self to give advice to interlocutors, and a third “fantasy” mode for bedtime stories. Things like reciting or writing a touching poem to your wife.

LoCascio said no one has participated in a program as sophisticated as Bommer has, and the technology is moving quickly.

“Ultimately, we'll approach him as a video, as a person really,” LoCascio added. “But for the high quality we want, we're just vocal right now.”

There are other AI programs to immortalize humans, but Eternos.life said it will be the first program to use machine learning to create as much intelligence as its user.

The company also noted that the program is intuitive enough to maintain the values ​​that a person adheres to throughout their life, essentially allowing the person to live in a digital format.

The next step for Bommer's Eternos.life AI will be to create an artificially intelligent neural network that will match the text and audio with pre-input images and videos as it recalls the stories of its life. raises

LoCascio's goal when the product is fully launched is for people to enter their lifetime stories, like a diary, as they plan to leave behind.

The Healing Power of Technology

The project turns out to be a boon for Boomer and his grieving family, who are looking for a silver lining.

The experience also became a particularly bonding moment with his two biological sons, ages 30 and 24, as “they were absolutely delighted with what they learned from me.”

“We were forced into this situation and had little fun finding out little things about me that they didn't already know.”

As for his wife Annette, she plans to ask the program to explain things as if her husband were in the room — like what to do about car trouble.

“Maybe I'll even get him to write me a poem,” she told The Post.

But the boomer isn't just for families in the here and now. It is also designed for his grandchildren to know their grandfather, whenever he comes to earth someday.

Over the weekend, Boomer celebrated his 61st birthday and a “party of life” with hundreds of loved ones.

Many people came up with suggestions, more moments and music to add to the AI, which he says “dramatically changed the rest of my life.”

“It's very simple. I've had a wonderful life. I have a wonderful wife,” he said. “I'm not going to give up or leave my wife for another 15 years. So I'm all about accepting what a wonderful life I've had.

As for being a part of AI history and keeping his legacy alive for his family and future generations, Boomer did it best.

“As a dying man, man, does it feel good?”