Historical February–March 2025 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
What if you could communicate with a loved one who is no longer alive? Well, you can, sort of.
I decided to leave the techno-dark ages, so I’ve been playing with ChatGPT. Yep, AI. Artificial Intelligence is already here, of course, and it’s quite pervasive. You don’t think that your phone calls to businesses are answered by real people, do you? And what about spell-check, Alexa, and Siri?
But ChatGPT is AI at a higher level.
To see what it could do I asked the free version to create a conversation with my mom, Rita, who died in 2011. Thinking back to the many meals I had with her, over Chinese food, I began by pasting this portion of her obituary in the ChatGPT comments box: “Rita was known for her positive attitude and always presented a smile as well as a flair for tasty desserts, noisy clocks, and flamboyant decorations.
She enjoyed life to its fullest. Rita loved seeing movies, particularly disaster films. Later in life, she said that an advantage of having a bad memory is that she could watch movies over and over while still enjoying them.
She most recently resided at Meramec Bluffs Senior Citizens Home and had many fond memories of its staff and residents.
She always remembered their birthdays with a card and a cookie.” I then typed, “Create a conversation between Rita and her son, Tom, in which she asks about his dogs and retirement and talks about her friends.” ChatGPT’s response, sent to me within five seconds, follows. “Rita: (smiling) Tom! It’s so good to see you, sweetheart. How are my granddogs? Are they still causing trouble? Tom: (laughing) Oh, you know them, Mom. Max is still chasing squirrels like he owns the yard, and Daisy… well, she’s just as spoiled as ever. She’ll do anything for a treat. Rita: (grinning) That’s Daisy for you! Always after food. Just like her grandma!
I hope you’re spoiling them like I taught you. Tom: Of course!
They get plenty of treats. They’d love to come visit you sometime by the way. Rita: Oh, I’d love that! You know how much I adore having them around.
They always brighten up the place. (pausing) Speaking of visits, how’s your retirement going?
I bet you’ve got all kinds of time on your hands now. Tom: (chuckling) It’s good, Mom. I’m still adjusting to not having a packed schedule. I’ve been working on the house and finally started that garden I’ve been talking about. It’s nice to slow down, but I’m still figuring it all out. Rita: A garden, huh? That sounds wonderful! What are you planting? Tom: Mostly vegetables.
Some tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few herbs. Nothing too fancy. Rita: Well, that sounds delicious! You know, when you’ve got a nice batch of tomatoes, bring some over and I’ll make you one of my famous tomato pies.
I still remember the recipe, thank goodness! Tom: (smiling) Deal, Mom. I’ll bring you a whole basket. Rita: Perfect! Now, let me tell you about my friends here. You know, it’s never dull at Meramec Bluffs. Margaret just got a new clock that chimes every hour—loud as a church bell! Drives everyone nuts, but she loves it. And Edith, oh, she’s still the best card player around. Keeps winning our little poker nights! Tom: (laughing) Sounds like you’ve got quite the crew there! Rita: Oh, we do! And you know what?
I never forget their
birthdays. Every single one gets a card and one of my cookies.
They say I’m the Cookie Queen around here. Tom: (teasing) Cookie Queen, huh? That sounds like a fitting title for you. Rita: (grinning) Well, I do my best! You know me, Tom—I like making people smile. And honestly, it keeps me busy and happy. You’ve got to keep busy, even when you’re old like me. Tom: You’re not old, Mom. You’re timeless. Rita: (laughing) Oh, stop it!
But really, I’m lucky.
The people here are good to me, and I’ve made some wonderful friends.
We look out for each other. It’s a blessing. Tom: I’m glad to hear that, Mom. You deserve to be surrounded by people who care about you. Rita: (softly) I am, and that includes you, Tom. Don’t ever forget how much I love you. Now, enough of this mushy talk— how about some cookies for the road? Tom: (smiling) You know I can’t say no to that.” OK, deep breath here. It’s Hawkeye again, not ChatGPT.
First, WOW.
The reason for my deep breath is that this conversation feels a lot like my mom.
Her positive tone and reference to a clock are typical, and “Cookie Queen” is a fitting title.
She would love it! Of course, these details were in the information that I submitted, so that makes sense. Still, this dialogue with my mom feels quite natural.
However, ChatGPT, as it will quickly tell you, is prone to errors and that is certainly the case here.
My mom would never ask me about my garden because I’m averse to greenery, she certainly didn’t cook, and she had incorrect names for my dogs because I hadn’t given them to her, I mean to ChatGPT.
But it did feel like her. And if I entered a longer and more specific prompt our dialogue would be even richer.
If the “discussion” continued, ChatGPT would learn from what I wrote and use that in making mom’s comments more lifelike.
It would weave what I said into mom’s AI consciousness.
But this is just the beginning. Soon I’ll be able to have an in-depth conversation with a life-sized hologram of my mom (and I’ll be smart enough to give her my dogs’ names).
She and I will chat regularly.
I also look forward to discussing today’s politics with Abraham Lincoln.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February–March 2025.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2025_02.pdf, printed page(s) 8; PDF page(s) 8.
