Sushant Singh Rajput's family opposes 'insensitive' AI tool mimicking actor
What's the story
Fans of late Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput have been "interacting" with an artificial intelligence (AI) tool on Instagram designed to imitate his voice and conversational style. However, Rajput's family has expressed strong disapproval of it, labeling it "insensitive." The AI, featured under Instagram's Discover AI section, relies on the actor's publicly available content, including interviews, tweets, social media posts, and speeches, to digitally recreate aspects of his persona.
Family objections
Family has written a letter to Meta India
Rajput's family has written a letter to Meta India, asking for the tool's removal. A source from Meta told Mid-Day, "Recreating Sushant's voice and personality through AI is deeply distressing for his family." "Many fans have flagged it off as well." The source added. "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." The tool has amassed over 5,53,000 interactions, per Mid-Day.
Family's stance
Rajput was found dead in June 2020
Despite many raising objections, neither Rajput's sister, Shweta Singh Kirti, nor any family members have issued a public statement addressing the controversial AI tool. Rajput tragically passed away on June 14, 2020. He was discovered dead in his Mumbai residence. The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a closure report in the case in March, emphasizing that no evidence was found to indicate that anyone had driven Rajput to suicide.