Topics: Cancer, Christmas, Parenting, Social Media, TikTok, US News, Viral, Technology, Artificial Intelligence
People are flooding to social media 'sobbing uncontrollably' over a TikToker's Christmas gift to his mom commemorating his dad.
We've all heard of the damage that artificial intelligence (AI) can cause when it copies people's voices, whether it be scammers cloning the voice of someone's daughter or Robin Williams' daughter speaking out against the 'disturbing' recreations of her dad.
However, much like social media, the technology also has the potential to be used for the power of good.
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Despite telling ABC News he initially found the idea of using AI to recreate his father's voice 'kind of weird,' TikToker Phillip Willett - who goes by @phillipwillett on the platform - decided to harness the power of AI to give his mom a very special Christmas gift and pay tribute to his late dad after getting 'chills' from testing out an AI software.
The caption to a video of his mom's reaction reads: "My dad passed away from pancreatic cancer 1.5 years ago. So I decided to do something special for my mom this year for Christmas.
"It’s been so long since we’ve heard his voice…So I made her a video using an AI software to match his exact voice."
Using an AI voice software program called ElevenLabs, Phillip recreated his dad's voice to send a message to his mom, noting 'it sucks when you don’t have voicemails or any audio of the things you want to hear when they are gone'.
The caption concludes: ""The result was absolutely amazing. Here’s how it turned out…."
The video plays the AI recording replicating his dad's voice, with the AI greeting his mom and mimicking him telling her that he loves her.
It continues: "I hear your prayers. I want you to know, you are the best mother to our kids.
"And you are the strongest woman in the whole world. I am always with ya honey and I hope you guys have a merry Christmas."
Cue not only Phillip's mom, but the rest of us, all dissolving into floods of tears.
The video has since gone viral, amassing over five million views and thousands flocking to the comments in praise of the thoughtful gift.
One TikTok user said: "I knew I was going to cry but I still stayed because I think your dad deserved to be known."
"Ah yes. Another tik tok where I sob for people I’ve never met," another added.
A third commented: "My dad passed away from pancreatic cancer 17 days ago, a day after my birthday. Prayers and love sent to you and yours."
"I’m sobbing uncontrollably," a fourth wrote.
In the comments, Phillip admitted it 'took a lot of work to get it to sound realistic,' telling ABC News that he was sat at his desk from 7:00am until 6:00pm doing it.
The TikToker is also planning on doing a tutorial on how to use the software too, so others who've lost loved ones can do the same.
The content creator resolves: "It was definitely a tear jerking process. But it turned out so special."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature.
