William Shatner is boldly going where no man has ever been! The Star Trek actor celebrates his 90th birthday by creating an AI version of himself to “preserve his memory and legacy for generations to come”
- Mr. Shatner, who is now 90 years old, will be the first to be recorded on StoryFile Life
- The advanced video system will allow people to ask “him” questions about his life
- Your StoryFile conversation will be available for viewing on devices starting in May
- Shatner is famous for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise
William Shatner, of Star Trek, is creating an artificial intelligence version of himself to “preserve his memory and legacy for future generations”.
The actor will become the first person to have his life story captured by the conversational and interactive video technology of StoryFile, based in Los Angeles.
The system will allow you to interact directly with the recording, asking questions about Mr. Shatner’s work and personal experiences, even after the man himself is gone.
Today’s announcement was scheduled to coincide with Mr. Shatner’s 90th birthday, with his conversation on the StoryFile available for viewing on devices starting in May.
Mr. Shatner is famous for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, alongside leading roles in police drama TJ Hooker and dramatic Boston Legal.
William Shatner of Star Trek is creating an artificial intelligence version of himself to “preserve his memory and legacy for generations to come”. In the photo: Mr. Shatner recording his conversation on StoryFile Life for posterity in the Los Angeles-based company studio
The actor will become the first person to be captured by StoryFile’s AI-based interactive video technology based in Los Angeles. In the photo: William Shatner (right) and Leonard Nimoy (left) as captain James Kirk and Mr. Spock in the episode of Star Trek, Plato’s stepsons
“I have a story to tell,” said Mr. Shatner.
‘Imagine if you could record yourself in a way that future generations, hundreds of years from now, could speak to you – and you could speak back. It is possible.
‘With StoryFile, we can now be present in the future. Your authentic self, forever.
‘This is for all of my children and all of my children’s children and all of my children’s loved ones and all of their loved ones’ loved ones.
“This is my gift to you over time,” he concluded.
“William Shatner is going where no one has gone before,” said StoryFile co-founder and CEO, Heather Maio-Smith.
‘Generations in the future will be able to talk to him. Not an avatar, not a deep hoax, but with the real William Shatner answering their questions about his life and work, ‘she continued.
‘It changes the trajectory of the future – of how we live life today and how we share these lessons and stories for generations to come.’
‘Imagine if you could record yourself in a way that future generations, hundreds of years from now, could speak to you – and you could speak back. This is possible, ‘Mr. Shatner, in the photo, said
Mr. Shatner is famous for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, alongside leading roles in police drama TJ Hooker and dramatic Boston Legal. In the photo: William Shatner reprising his role as Captain Kirk (center) with co-stars Walter Koenig (left) and James Doohan (right) in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations
“We believe that each person’s story is important,” said StoryFile co-founder Stephen Smith.
‘Who better to show the world how StoryFile Life works than a man the world knows to expand our imagination about the future and life in this universe and beyond.’
‘A man who has always generously shared the ups and downs with us, and who has mastered the art of storytelling.’
Visitors to the StoryFile site can sign up to receive notification when William Shatner’s conversation is live and ready to interact.
SOON CAN WE UPLOAD OUR MINDS TO A COMPUTER?
The preservation of the brain and memory has been widely explored by futurists, scientists and science fiction addicts.
Many say it falls under the category of ‘transhumanism’.
Transhumanism is the belief that the human body can evolve beyond its current form with the help of scientists and technology.
The practice of mental uploading has been promoted by many people, including Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, who believes that we will be able to upload all of our brains to computers in 2045.
Similar technologies have been described in science fiction dramas, ranging from Netflix’s Altered Carbon to the popular Black Mirror series.
Another prominent futurist, Dr. Michio Kaku, believes that virtual reality can be used to keep the personalities and memories of our loved ones alive, even after they die.
Scientists and futurists have different theories about how we might be able to preserve the human brain, ranging from uploading our memories to a computer to Nectome’s high-tech embalming process, which can keep it intact for thousands of years
“Imagine being able to talk to your loved one after he dies … it’s possible if his personality was downloaded to a computer as an avatar,” he explained.
These ideas were not met without criticism.
McGill University neuroscientist Michael Hendricks told MIT that these technologies are a ‘joke’.
‘I hope that the people of the future will be shocked that, in the 21st century, the richest and most comfortable people in history have spent their money and resources trying to live forever on the back of their descendants. I mean, it’s a joke, right? They are cartoon thugs, ‘he said.
Meanwhile, neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis said recently that such technologies would be virtually impossible.
“The brain is not computable and no engineering can reproduce it,” he said.
‘You can have all the computer chips in the world and it won’t create an awareness.’