🪦 Chatting with the dead

Plus: More Webb photos | Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Robin Powered   Axios What's Next By Alex Fitzpatrick, Jennifer A. Kingson and Joann Muller · Jul 13, 2022 Another great story from the "cool or creepy?" file from Jennifer today. Have a read and let us know whether you'd ever use something like this: whatsnext@axios.com. Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,159 words ... 4 1/2 minutes.     1 big thing: Using AI to "chat" with the dead Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   New products that let people keep relatives "alive" via AI are proliferating — offering, say, an interactive conversation with a recently departed dad who took the time to record a video interview before he passed, Jennifer A. Kingson reports. Why it matters: As interest in genealogy and ancestry proliferates, these tools let families preserve memories and personal connections through generations — even giving children a sense of the physical presence of a relative who died before they were born. One such tool, StoryFile, was notably used at the late actor Ed Asner's memorial service, where mourners were invited to "converse" with the deceased at an interactive display that featured video and audio he recorded over several days before he died. "Nothing could prepare me for what I was going to witness when I saw it," Matt Asner, the actor's son, told Axios. Ed Asner, a former head of the Screen Actors Guild, had "covered everything — his childhood, work history, political history, family life," his son said. While a few mourners were "a little creeped out by it," the conversational video was "like having him in the room," Matt Asner said. "The great majority of people were just blown away by it." The big picture: StoryFile is perhaps the most robust of a growing number of tools that help people create interactive digital memories of relatives. Amazon recently showed off an experimental Alexa feature that can read books aloud in the voice of a late relative. HereAfter AI lets you record stories about yourself and pair them with photographs — so family members can ask you about your life and experiences. Microsoft has obtained a patent to create "chatbots" that mimic individual people (dead or alive) based on their social media posts and text messages, per the Washington Post. How it works: With StoryFile, a user sits for a video interview and answers a series of questions. The company produces an archive that can be watched sequentially or used in a Q&A format. When a question is asked, the AI technology retrieves relevant video content to create an answer, picking out clips from the available footage. The company was co-founded by oral historian Stephen Smith, who used to run Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation and specializes in preserving the memories of Holocaust survivors. "The idea of StoryFile is you should be able to speak to anyone, anytime, anywhere that you wouldn't normally have access to," Smith tells Axios. "Maybe you don't have access to grandma because she's passed away, but you can still learn her story, feel a sense of connection to her." StoryFile is also building an archive of public figures who have sat for interviews. (Try asking a question of very-much-alive William Shatner.) Between the lines: These types of programs are already growing familiar through deepfakes, science fiction and a documentary about Anthony Bourdain that used AI tech to replicate the famous chef's voice. What they're saying: "They were only able to do that with Bourdain because there are so many recordings of him in a variety of situations," said Amit Roy-Chowdhury, who chairs the robotics department at the University of California, Riverside. "In the future, we will probably be able to design AI that responds in a human-like way to new situations, but we don't know how long this will take." The bottom line: These kinds of memory-preservation programs "might change the way we collect history," Smith said "We all have amazing stories to tell, and one of the big discoveries I've had in founding this company is how few of us truly understand the importance of our own story," he said. "We're quite self-deprecating." Read the full story.     2. Meet Walmart's new electric van Walmart's Canoo-made LDV. Photo courtesy Canoo   Walmart is buying 4,500 electric delivery vans from EV maker Canoo for "last mile" deliveries to shoppers' homes, Axios' Worth Sparkman reports. Why it matters: Farmers, contractors and delivery companies — not individual consumers — will lead America into the electric vehicle era, Axios' Joann Muller wrote earlier this year. Details: The deal involves Canoo's Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV), a commercial delivery van built for frequent stop-and-go travel. The LDV has 120 cubic feet of cargo space — and it's modular, meaning it can be adapted for specific needs. The electric vans will help Walmart get closer to its goal of zero emissions by 2040. What to watch: Walmart's LDVs will enter service in the Dallas-Forth Worth metro area in "the coming weeks," Canoo said in a news release. (Disclosure: Worth Sparkman is a Walmart shareholder.) Read the rest.     3. Heathrow to airlines: Please, have mercy Passengers at London Heathrow Airport on April 13, 2022. Photo: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images   London's Heathrow Airport is limiting the number of daily passengers that can depart from its terminals for the rest of the summer, Axios' Ivana Saric reports — a shocking move that underscores just how tapped out the global air system really is. The airport — one of Europe's busiest — is also asking airlines to stop selling new tickets. Why it matters: Like other airports and airlines, Heathrow is struggling to meet surging demand for air travel while contending with staffing shortages. The details: A maximum of 100,000 daily passengers will be allowed to travel out of Heathrow through Sept. 11, airport CEO John Holland-Kaye wrote in an open letter. The big picture: Other European airports, including London's Gatwick and Amsterdam's Schiphol, have issued similar caps in recent weeks. Read the rest.     A message from Robin Powered Roll-out strategies to boost employee engagement     Robin's step-by-step, actionable playbook helps hybrid work beginners better facilitate flexible work. What's in it for you: Learn to connect hybrid teams, increase engagement and leverage data. Plus, get free planning templates to create unique workplace strategies. Download the guide.     4. '90s music ... '90s music everywhere Data: Luminate Music 360; Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios '90s music is reigning supreme right now, according to entertainment data firm Luminate, Axios' Emily Peck reports. Why it matters: Savor this moment — a rare point of cross-generational consensus. Gen Xers, millennials and "zoomers" (Gen Z) all appear to love '90s music. Of note: Americans born in the '90s and 2000s are listening to music from the decade they were born in at higher rates than other generations listen to music from their birth decades. Emily's thought bubble: As a Gen Xer, I can say with confidence that the '90s was the last great decade for music. We had huge hits from a range of artists, from Nirvana to Notorious B.I.G. to Whitney Houston. Don't @ me. Share this story.     5. 🛰 More stunning Webb pics Photo courtesy NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI   After President Biden revealed the James Webb Space Telescope's first full-color scientific image Monday, NASA released more pictures yesterday — including this beaut of the "Cosmic Cliffs," a star nursery in the Carina Nebula, Alex Fitzpatrick reports. Why it matters: The $10 billion Webb telescope is on a mission to "rework our understanding of how the universe evolved from the earliest galaxies to today," per Axios' resident space expert, Miriam Kramer. Sharing a few stunning pictures along the way can help gin up public interest in, and support for, that mission. The details: "Webb's seemingly three-dimensional picture looks like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening," reads NASA's write-up. "In reality, it is the edge of the giant, gaseous cavity within [star-forming region] NGC 3324." "Webb reveals emerging stellar nurseries and individual stars that are completely hidden in visible-light pictures. Because of Webb's sensitivity to infrared light, it can peer through cosmic dust to see these objects."     A message from Robin Powered Tech that connects hybrid teams     Robin's step-by-step Hybrid Work 101 guide shares key ways to create a thriving hybrid workplace. It covers: The tech you need to better connect your teams. How to adjust your office for flexible work. Leveraging data to assess your strategies. Get the guide plus free planning templates.   A hearty thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next magic by signing up here for our free newsletter. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. 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