Widowed husband reveals deceased actress helped create AI ‘twin’ replica of herself
In this DML Report…
Suzanne Somers, who died on October 15, 2023, at age 76 from breast cancer first diagnosed in 2000, had envisioned creating an AI version of herself decades earlier, according to revelations from her husband, Alan Hamel. Hamel disclosed that discussions about the AI twin began in the 1980s, influenced by their longtime friend Ray Kurzweil, whom Bill Gates has described as the smartest man on the planet. Kurzweil explained the concept to them, and they anticipated its eventual realization. Somers herself proposed the idea, stating: "I think we should do that. I think it'll be very interesting and we'll provide a service to my fans and to people who have been reading my books who really want and need information about their health. Let's do it." Hamel emphasized that he is now fulfilling her wish through this project.
Hamel has collaborated with the AI company Hollo to develop the digital twin, which has been trained on Somers' 27 books and hundreds of interviews to enable it to answer questions accurately. The AI is designed to look and sound identical to Somers, with Hamel noting that side-by-side comparisons make it indistinguishable from the real person. He demonstrated the technology at the Roth 25 AI conference earlier this year, where he asked it questions and reported: "It was Suzanne. And I asked her a few questions and she answered them, and it blew me and everybody else away." The AI twin is modeled after Somers' appearance from her "Three's Company" character.
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Somers and Hamel met in the 1960s while working on the game show "The Anniversary Game" and were married for nearly 44 years, having been together for 55 years total. Hamel shared these details in an interview published in People magazine on Tuesday.