Two years ago my father died on his birthday (yeesh, upbeat opener, Kismet) and something that brought me great comfort was an article someone sent us about the phenomenon. The gist was, some cultures view dying on your birthday as a sign that you completed what you came here to do; that going out on the same date you came into being is an expression of that fulfillment. Suzanne Somers also passed away two years ago, the day before what would have been her 77th birthday. So what’s the mystic belief behind coming within a day of your bday? There was just one piece left unfinished? Suzanne’s widower might be thinking along those lines, because he’s developing an AI version of his late wife. A rare 180 from family members not wanting an AI of their loved one. Alan Hamel recently opened up about the “Suzanne AI Twin” (missed opportunity to call it the “Suzanne AI-master,” if you ask me!) which he wants to make public and available to her fans. He also swears the AI is so well-rendered that even he can’t tell the difference. That’s… quite the statement.
“Obviously, Suzanne was greatly loved, not only by her family, but by millions of people,” Hamel said. “One of the projects that we have coming up is a really interesting project, the Suzanne AI Twin.”
The AI robot has not only been designed to look like the Three’s Company star, but was also trained by reading all 27 of her books, in addition to being fed “hundreds of interviews” that Somers did over the course of her career. Hamel said that he thought the robot was “perfect” when he interacted with it at the conference.
“It was Suzanne. I asked her a few questions, and she answered them, and it blew me and everybody else away,” he continued. “When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can’t tell the difference. It’s amazing.”
He added, “I’ve been with Suzanne for 55 years, so I know what her face looks like, and when I just look at the two of them side by side, I really can’t tell which one is the real and which one is the AI.”
Hamel was married to [Somers] for 46 years before she died on Oct. 15, 2023, just one day shy of her 77th birthday. Somers’ death came amid a battle with an aggressive form of breast cancer, and according to Hamel, she expressed interest in the AI creation years before her death. He said the topic first came up in the ‘80s, when they met inventor and AI scientist Ray Kurzweil.
“It was Suzanne’s idea,” Hamel claimed. “She said, ‘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. So that’s the reason we did it.”
Hamel went on to admit that it was “a little strange” when he spoke to Somers’ AI for the first time. But eventually he “forgot about the fact that I was talking to a robot” and got used to it.
The former producer hopes the same will be possible for longtime fans of Somers “who miss her terribly.” He plans to share the AI online where fans will be able to “come and just hang out with her.”
He explained, “There’ll be people who will ask her about their health issues, and Suzanne will be able to answer them. Not Suzanne’s version of the answer, but it’ll go directly to the doctor she interviewed for that very issue, so it’ll be coming from an MD.”
He added that the interviews and info from Somers’ books were cleared by the vitamin and supplement brand Life Extension, which can vouch for the AI’s accuracy.
“The last thing we wanted was to have any issues about providing interviews about people’s health issues that were incorrect,” Hamel said.
When I saw this headline, my first thought was “Grief takes all forms, who am I to judge?” In reading the interview, though, there’s so much more going on here. This project doesn’t sound like a personal coping mechanism, not when Alan is invoking Suzanne’s wish to “provide a service to my fans.” (Sidenote: major lol.) So, is there a profit angle in this? Cause that makes it hairy. But to position AI Suzanne as someone for the public to consult with on health/medical issues… I’m sorry but that makes it downright dangerous. ChatGPT et al are already risky for people’s mental health (just look up AI Psychosis); let’s not give the technology the power to be equally as hazardous to our physical health. I’m sure this is why Alan stresses how AI Suzanne will be linked to a real MD, but that very point gets at one of my biggest issues with AI: it’s an extra step we’re creating that we absolutely don’t need! Human Patient goes to AI Doctor, AI Doctor is linked to Human Doctor for accuracy/safety. Human Patient can just go straight to Human Doctor!!
Photos credit: CPA, PacificCoastNews/Avalon. These are all photos of the real Suzanne