#digital resurrection

AI-generated “dead bots” are becoming increasingly popular, offering a way to simulate the presence of deceased loved ones. While some see this as a comforting tool, experts warn of ethical concerns and the potential disruption of the natural grieving process. #AI #DigitalResurrection #Ethics #Grief #BreakingNews

Digital resurrection raises broader questions than simply whether this or that CGI revenant was respectful to the dead and artistically effective. A few recent instances are hard to fault. For example, films featuring actors who died during production have recreated the dead actors’ likenesses to finish the film. Screenwriter Chris Morgan rewrote the fate of Paul Walker’s character in Furious 7 after the actor’s death, with Walker’s brothers standing in for him to film additional material that served as a farewell and tribute to Walker. Weta Digital handled modeling Walker’s face and superimposing it on his brothers. Fans of the Fast and the Furious franchise found the send-off for Walker touching. But obviously, in this case, the filmmakers used the technology out of what they felt was necessity. In Rogue One, however, Disney made Cushing a test case for a digital resurrection freely chosen by the filmmakers. There was no overwhelming narrative need to include Grand Moff Tarkin in this Star Wars story. The script has its own cast of bickering Imperial antagonists who could have lost command of the Death Star by the film’s end without the Grand Moff appearing in person to requisition it. The reason Tarkin is in the movie is to serve as an experiment in filmmaking technology.