Eternal You
What if you never had to say goodbye to a loved one? What if death and grief were concerns of the past? Filmmakers Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck pose these questions and more while examining one of the latest major breakthroughs in AI technology – open language models that enable realistic conversations with virtual reality avatars built using characteristics of the deceased. In essence, bringing the dead to digital life. Through interviews with end-users, tech experts, journalists, programmers and psychologists, a broad and analytical account unfolds to reveal the far-reaching and often disturbing implications of this new technology. “A sprawling portrait of the emerging business that is digital afterlife technology,” (Rolling Stone), ETERNAL YOU both glimpses what the future of death in capitalism holds and examines what the human costs might be.
Director & Cast
- Director: Hans Block
- Director: Moritz Riesewieck
Where to Watch
Trailer
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Reviews
- "'Eternal You' isn’t really about overcoming death...it is about humans’ desperation to find meaning in life wherever they can, and how companies are rushing to fill that gap and inspire almost religious devotion, even in the professionals making the tools. But it also feels like a warning: That’s not your loved one on the other end at all — and it’s not magic either."
- "Regardless of where you fall on the issue, ETERNAL YOU is undeniably beautiful, with artful cinematography from Tom Bergmann and Konrad Waldmann that creates an air of mystery from the very beginning."
- "Fascinating…A frank exploration of a seriously hot topic."
- "A necessary warning klaxon for our culture’s increasing inability to accept death, just as it finds a techno-economic structure happy to oblige it."
- "Watching Eternal You is like watching a ping pong match; just when you think this might be a good idea, it asks philosophical, emotional, and practical questions."
- "A sprawling portrait of the emerging business that is digital afterlife technology."
- "A broader, more analytical look at the burgeoning market for “afterlife technology”."
- "The film approaches a new tech frontier with an objective, responsibly apprehensive, eye."
- "Urgent and timely."
- "AI is a genie let out of the bottle, for better or worse. Eternal You gives us a taste of both, making for an experience that is equal parts enlightening, heartbreaking, and infuriating — much like real grief."
- "Eternal You has a fascinating story to explore, but what makes it even more impressive is the complex way in which it approaches this challenging material."
- "Absorbing and, frequently, disturbing...."
Best Scientific Documentary
Docville
Grand Jury Prize
Sundance Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature
San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
Newcomers Competition
Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival
CPH DOX
Hot Docs Int'l. Film Festival
Sheffield Doc Fest