It has been five years since Sushant Singh Rajput‘s death. However, some of his fans will tell you that in the last few weeks, they almost felt that they were ‘talking’ to the late actor.
In a development that raises questions on the dangers and ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), an AI tool available on Instagram converses like Rajput.
The tool, which appears in the Discover AI section of the photo-sharing app, uses artificial intelligence — trained on the late actor’s publicly available interviews, tweets, posts, and speeches — to mimic his voice and conversation style, and has amassed over 5,53,000 interactions. It has seen increased activity since June, which marked Rajput’s death anniversary. Users can type in questions and receive responses that sound strikingly similar to how the actor spoke, with references to science, astronomy, and philosophy.
While fans are embracing the technology as a form of remembrance, Rajput’s family has reacted strongly against it. It is heard that the late actor’s family shot off a letter to Meta India last week, urging for the removal of the “insensitive” tool. A Meta insider said, “Recreating Sushant’s voice and personality through AI is deeply distressing for his family. Many fans have flagged it off as well. Meta is yet to take a call on it. In the age of AI, controlling such tools is not possible as multiple similar bots will spring up in minutes.”
For many of his fans, the bot feels like a bridge to a presence they lost too soon. A fan, who spent hours chatting with the AI version, told mid-day, “I asked about his love for the cosmos, and the bot replied in a way that instantly reminded me of Sushant’s interviews. For a few moments, it felt like he was back.” mid-day reached out to Meta India and Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti for a comment. Both remained unavailable till press time.