Good Morning Britain viewers appear to expect the unexpected and that was proven during the latest episode. The ITV news programme was back on air with Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley at the helm on Wednesday (January 11).
While the programme was dominated by the latest revelations from Prince Harry following the release of his fourth interview to coincide with the release of his new memoir, Spare, and the second wave of ambulance worker strikes.
But there was also an interesting debate on whether you'd be willing to spend thousands of pounds in order to speak to your loved ones again after they have died.
It comes as a Korean AI firm have managed to mimic the voices and facial expressions of dead people, so loved ones can speak to them from beyond the grave. After seeing a tear-jerking video of the technology in action, Susanna admitted: "It's incredibly moving, isn't it?"
She then explained: "It is expected to cost £20,000 and each time you go to the studio to have a conversation with your deceased love one, that costs another one thousand pounds."
To discuss whether the tech is a good idea or not, Susanna and Richard were joined by The Apprentice aide and businessman Tim Campbell. who has his own company the helps people restore memories of their loved ones after they've passed, and grief counsellor Dipti Tait who claimed it was 'deeply unethical' and went so far as to say it is 'grotesque'.
"I think it's a great development for individuals who are learning to live with the loss of somebody, how they can get used to that missing part," Tim argued. He added: "What you have to be clear about is people deal with grief in very different ways.
"How you might have teddy bear of someone you've lost, you might have a garment that reminds you of them and that makes it easier for you to ease into that stage of them no longer being there. I think whatever helps people to manage is a positive."
But Susanna asked Dipti what she thinks is wrong with the new AI business. "When I saw this technology my first reaction was, I'm actually terrified and my second reaction was about the ethics of this."
She went on to say: "I've worked with grieving clients for about 20 years now so I see them at their very lowest. These are emotionally vulnerable people and these people are so delicate and desperate so what we want to do with grieving patients is move them into acceptance and this is blurring the boundaries between reality and deep fake."
Reacting to the debate, GMB viewers quipped that it was another 'crisis' dilemma they had to face. @AndyB_252 tweeted: "Heat, Eat or talk to a deceased loved one ????? Only on #GMB could you hear about these crisis decisions. @GMB."
@ISt3wart argued: "The Dead are Dead,, Gone,, Not Coming Back,, just let them Rest in Peace and move on. It’s called Life. #GMB." @KarenlovesGB echoed: "Reconnecting with the dead with AI? NOOOOO. For me, it would prolong the grieving. I couldn’t even watch a 2 minute video clip of my dad for years after he died #gmb."
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