Content. After Death.

Can we escape death?  No.

Can we escape the effect of death?  No.

Wait, no?

Maybe no.  But also, maybe yes.  Maybe some of its effect.

Let’s examine that again.

When we die, we die.  And the one dying, doesn't deal with the consequence, or the grief, that comes after... the effect of a death.

Spatial Computing (demonstrated by Apple's Vision Pro) and Generative AI — technologies that have come to the forefront in the last one year and in the past month — has caused me to update my thinking on how to prepare for my eventual death. Especially since I expect to be leaving behind my children, possibly my wife, and hopefully my grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and maybe some friends and other loved ones.

Video demos of Apple's Vision Pro are incredibly fascinating.  They crystallize the potential of spatial computing.  It (the technology) is by no means perfect, but we can now imagine what exponential progress will bring.  And it is certainly bringing us closer to a future in which we can experience highly immersive content and mixed reality.

So — this article is about Content

And what does such content have to do with death and dying?

When somebody passes on, members of the family, loved ones — will miss the person.

Well… to be more precise… they will miss the experience of interacting with that person.

Most of these experiences come through sight and sound… real sight and sound, in the context of space and time… realistic sight and sound.  Touch and smell would be missing elements in the interactions… but in time, these could well be replicated.  (The fifth sense — taste — is rather irrelevant in this context.)

Now, first imagine how we can begin to store high quality, augmented reality videos that enable us to leave behind content which turn into experiences for loved ones to have — through technologies such as spatial computing and Apple's Vision Pro.

Then, imagine Generative AI ingesting all that content, and now producing additional content — trained on how one thinks, speaks, phrases their sentences, and more.

And imagine Generative AI being used, not just to create text, images and audio clips — but truly immersive video.

Imagine an AI version of you, that ages gradually… and long after you abruptly leave — go on to interact with your loved ones indefinitely.

This is one of the next frontiers that is truly exciting and requires significant attention.

Perhaps we are indeed getting closer to cheating death, or maybe more accurately, cheating (eliminating) the effect of death. Or at least, the effect of one's death on the people that they leave behind.

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