LOS ANGELES, CA – Family Voices AI today announced its controversial position on the emerging “grief tech” industry, challenging the notion that AI voice preservation should primarily serve as a posthumous comfort tool. The Los Angeles-based company is pioneering a different approach that focuses on preserving family legacies while people are still alive, rather than creating digital ghosts after death.
As companies like You, Only Virtual and StoryFile develop technologies allowing people to interact with virtual versions of deceased relatives, Family Voices AI believes this narrow application misses the broader potential of voice preservation technology.
“Let’s face it: creating AI versions of ourselves only after we’re gone is missing half the point,” said Jonathan Grossman, founder and CEO of Family Voices AI. “Why wait until someone’s dead to capture their voice, stories, and wisdom? The real magic happens when families can build these digital legacies together, across generations, while everyone’s still around to participate.”
Family Voices AI’s interactive family tree technology uses voice cloning to preserve not just voices but family stories and histories in an accessible format for everyday users. Unlike other grief tech companies that use generative AI to create chatbots that produce novel responses mimicking the deceased, Family Voices AI focuses on authentic preservation of actual stories and memories.
The company’s stance directly challenges the psychological concerns raised by experts like psychiatrist Elena Lister, who warns that AI simulations of deceased loved ones may enable denial rather than healthy grieving. Family Voices AI argues that by shifting the focus to living preservation, families can enjoy the benefits of the technology without the ethical complications.
“We’re not interested in creating fake conversations with dead relatives,” Grossman explained. “We’re interested in capturing real stories from living people that can be shared across generations. Sure, these voices will outlive us all, but that’s a side benefit, not the main purpose.”
The company’s approach is slightly different than cases like the Gowin family, where a 9-year-old boy regularly interacts with an AI version of his father who is still alive. While it’s imperative to capture the voices and stories while we are all alive, and it’s a great idea to get everyone used to the feeling of interacting with a digital avatar, Family Voices AI focuses more on letting those interactions happen once a person has passed.
Family Voices AI plans to expand its offerings to include interactive video agents that will allow users to have video chats with family members across generations. The company is targeting individuals who traditionally maintain family histories through scrapbooks and family trees, offering them a technological upgrade to their preservation efforts. Let’s face it, the family tree industry needs a serious upgrade. While the old school family tree has it’s place, this is a huge leap forward.
About Family Voices AI: Founded in June 2023 by audio industry veteran Jonathan Grossman, Family Voices AI operates at the intersection of technology and family legacies. A subsidiary of Night Shift Audio, the company’s mission is to make advanced AI voice cloning technology accessible to everyday people for preserving family stories and connections across generations. For more information, visit www.familyvoicesai.com.
Media Contact: Jonathan Grossman, CEO, Family Voices AI, jonathan@familyvoicesai.com