In the Instagram video, the creator's mother opens a present, a motion book, which is a picture album with moving pictures. As she played it, she was taken by surprise.
Credit: Instagram/phillipwilett
Losing a loved one is painful and the journey back to normalcy may be time consuming. But no matter how many years fly by, the feeling of missing that person will always be there. Especially during the holidays, when fond memories of them keep coming back.
Digital creator Phillip Willett surprised his mother with a heartfelt gesture by utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to recreate his late father's voice.
The video was uploaded on Instagram by Willett on December 21 and has crossed over 36,000 views. A year and a half ago, Willett's father passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. He wrote in his post that he wanted to do something extra special for his mother this year for Christmas. Since they hadn't heard his dad’s voice in a while, he used artificial intelligence (AI) software to create a video that matched his speech.
He wrote that the result was simply incredible.
In the Instagram video, Willet’s mother opens a present, she is seen revealing a motion book, which is a picture album with moving pictures. As she played it, she was taken by surprise.
“Hi honey, I love you. 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 you honey,” the voice generated by AI resembling his father said.
In response to a user who wanted to do something similar, Willett answered that he had created the audio recordings using the programme ElevenLabs.
“I used ElevenLabs to create the audio clips but assembled the entire video myself. I’ll be covering this process, and ElevenLabs software in depth very soon!” he wrote.
“So touching and beautiful!” a user wrote. “This is such a thoughtful gift and am currently sobbing,” said another. “This is the most thoughtful gift ever. Truly beautiful beyond words,” another user commented.