Late actress Suzanne Somers’ husband has revealed a decades-long plan to create an AI “twin” that would preserve her essence and interact with fans posthumously, raising serious questions about digital manipulation of the deceased and the commodification of human identity.
Story Overview
- Alan Hamel disclosed Somers began planning her AI replica years before her 2023 death
- The digital twin aims to preserve her voice, personality, and knowledge for future interactions
- Project represents early celebrity adoption of posthumous AI technology with unclear oversight
- Raises ethical concerns about consent, authenticity, and commercialization of digital personas
Decades-Long Digital Legacy Planning
Suzanne Somers, the beloved actress known for “Three’s Company” and later wellness advocacy, spent years collaborating with technology partners to develop an artificial intelligence version of herself. Her husband Alan Hamel revealed that Somers began exploring digital immortality concepts in the early 2000s, well before such technology became mainstream. The project involved extensive recording of her voice, personality traits, and accumulated wisdom to create a comprehensive digital representation.
Hamel stated that Somers “wanted to be able to talk to people, answer questions, and share her wisdom long after she was gone.” This forward-thinking approach demonstrates how celebrities increasingly view technology as a means to extend their influence beyond physical life. The project gained momentum between 2018 and 2023, utilizing advances in natural language processing and deep learning capabilities.
AI Technology Meets Celebrity Culture
The Somers AI twin project represents a significant development in the growing “digital afterlife” industry. Companies like HereAfter AI, Replika, and StoryFile have pioneered similar technologies, but few celebrities have embraced posthumous AI interaction so comprehensively. The technology promises to allow fans continued engagement with Somers’ digital persona, potentially answering questions and sharing insights based on her recorded knowledge and personality patterns.
However, the project remains largely private, with no public demonstrations or confirmed release dates announced. Hamel and the Somers estate maintain control over the AI twin’s development and future deployment. This secrecy raises questions about the technology’s current capabilities and the estate’s commercial intentions for the digital representation.
Ethical Boundaries and Conservative Concerns
The posthumous AI trend presents troubling implications for traditional values regarding death, remembrance, and human dignity. While Somers apparently consented to this digital preservation, the broader precedent raises concerns about manipulating deceased individuals’ likenesses for commercial gain. Conservative Americans who value authentic human relationships and traditional mourning processes may find such technological interventions deeply unsettling and potentially exploitative.
The lack of regulatory oversight in the digital afterlife sector compounds these concerns. Without clear legal frameworks governing posthumous AI representations, families and estates possess broad discretion over how deceased individuals are digitally portrayed. This absence of accountability mechanisms could enable misrepresentation or commercialization that contradicts the deceased person’s actual beliefs and values, undermining the integrity of their legacy.
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Apparently Suzanne Somers is back, because her husband says he created her AI twin
Suzanne Somers AI Clone Created 2 Years After Her Death
