This Christmas, a resident of St. Louis chose to use artificial intelligence to replicate his late father's voice, creating a unique gift for his mother. Phillip Willett, the creative force behind The Content Guy media company, posted a TikTok video showcasing the process on Thursday, and it has rapidly gained viral attention, amassing over 3 million views and counting.
Mr Willett told Good Morning America that his wife, Kassandra Willett was the first person to give him the idea to use AI.
Recalling his initial hesitation, Mr Willett said, "At first, I was like, I don't want to wade into that. I thought it was kind of weird."
However, the idea lingered in his mind, prompting the 27-year-old to explore online to find out if others had attempted something similar.
While searching online, Willett discovered "an entire community" of individuals who had posed the same inquiries he was contemplating. They also effectively utilized AI voice software to replicate the voices of their loved ones.
Subsequently, Mr Willett reconsidered his initial thoughts, and earlier this month, he mentioned that he sat down one morning to experiment with ElevenLabs' text-to-speech software.
"The actual first words that I put into the program was 'Hi, honey.' And I can't tell you how many times I've heard [my late father] say that in my life, which was why it was the first thing I put in," Willett said.
"When the program said it in his voice ... I got chills all over my body," he continued. "That's when I was like, I'm doing this no matter what."
During the creative process, Willett emphasized the importance of capturing his late father's voice accurately, as the success of the gift idea hinged on this precision.
John Willett, Mr Willett's late father who died in 2022 due to pancreatic cancer, is referred to as his "hero." Mr Willett attributes the strong bond he shares with his family and siblings today to the robust relationship between his parents.
"I sat down at my desk at 7 a.m. and I had the finished product at 6 p.m. but I did not leave my desk the whole day. I became very invested in it very quickly," Willett said. "I just ran with it. And I'm really glad I did because it turned out so cool."
Mr Willett not only replicated his late father's voice but also curated a video featuring photos of him alongside his mom, Trish Willett. He amalgamated these elements into a cherished video book. Once the entire creation took shape, he could hardly contain his excitement and promptly shared the finished product with his mom before Christmas.
"I wanted the video to feel like it was like a portal, that she could open this book and just be immersed in it and feel the emotion of their relationship," he said of his vision for the video book. "What the AI was able to do with that video, is encapsulate their whole life together."
Mr Willett captured his mom's immediate and emotional response to the gift, and a snippet of this moment is what he posted on TikTok.
"The video doesn't show it but it's probably a 10-minute hug after that. I don't think we moved for at least five minutes and we were both just crying," Willett said of the special moment.
"And then we couldn't talk about anything besides how cool it was," he continued. "I can also tell you with certainty that this is going to make it easier for her to get through this holiday because she's been reminded of him and now she knows he's with her always."
Now, Mr Willett said he suggests others explore the option of using generative AI for good if they're so inclined.
