I thought Jim Acosta displayed real integrity when he made his grand exit from CNN to avoid giving in to Trump. It was a bold, brave move, and one that sent a clear message of defiance in a media landscape that so often toes the party line. He ended his tenure with a fiery speech about holding onto the truth, which makes it a little strange that he's now apparently trying to torpedo his journalistic credibility as quickly as possible.
Seventeen-year-old Joaquin Acosta was one of the 17 victims of 2018's Parkland school shooting. It was a tragic, senseless act of violence that this country made far too easy to commit. His parents have been dedicated activists since, publishing a children's book and taking aim at 'edgy' comedians to keep Acosta's memory alive and fight back against gun violence.
Creating an AI simulacrum of their dead son, however, feels a little like a bridge too far.
I want to stress as much as I possibly can that losing a child is one of the most devastating things a human being can possibly experience, and grief takes innumerable forms. If having an AI model in the likeness of their son is what helps Manuel and Patricia Oliver process this loss and keep his memory alive, I don't see anything inherently wrong with that.
Trotting this AI model onto Jim Acosta's show to have him interview this digital ghoul like it's a real person that can express opinions or feelings is a touch problematic, though. Acosta advertises this as a 'one of a kind interview', which it certainly is, if only because it's such a patently ridiculous idea that no serious outlet would even consider it.
Even the sample question provided to stoke interest demonstrates how vacuous this whole pursuit is. Acosta asks the fake Joaquin what he would do about gun violence, and is provided with a perfectly tuned nothingburger answer by the LLM wearing his face: "It's about building a culture of kindness and understanding." Ethical issues aside (and there are many), you may as well sit down to watch him plug answers into ChatGPT. There has literally been a Black Mirror episode about this.
"I think that's a great idea, Joaquin," Acosta responds, not sounding convincing in the slightest. But then again, it's not his idea, is it? It's not anyone's.
