A 61-year-old German man named Michael Bommer has terminal cancer, and he is leaving behind an A.I. version of himself.
He's the first customer for a service called Eternos that creates your own A.I. double. He's been training an A.I. to act just like him and carry on after he's passed away.
You tell it your thoughts and memories, so it learns to mimic your personality, your voice, and can even generate new ideas similar to what you might think up. They asked him 150 questions about himself and his life, and he spent several weeks answering them at length.
The point is to give your family something to interact with once you're gone. So they can still ask questions and go to you for advice. Even Michael's great-great-grandchildren will be able to talk to him . . . or something close anyway.
He and his wife got to see his A.I. in action for the first time last month and were both impressed. She asked it to say something nice to her before bed. And in his exact voice, it said, "My love, have sweet dreams and I love you very much."
It's not cheap, but also not totally insane. It costs $10,000 to $15,000. But that's a one-time cost, and your family never has to pay anything. There's already a waitlist to sign up.