Jim Acosta says he was ‘honored' to interview AI Parkland victim amid intense backlash

Yahoo

a day ago

Amid the intense backlash he is facing over an 'interview' with an AI version of a student killed in the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, former CNN anchor Jim Acosta told The Independent he was 'honored' to help the victim's family remember their son.
The conversation featured Acosta speaking to an animated image of Joaquin Oliver, who would have been celebrating his 25th birthday on Monday. According to Joaquin's father Manuel, the avatar was based on a real photograph of his deceased son and was trained on general information and knowledge from his writings and social media postings.
At the start of the interview, which was posted to Acosta's Substack page, the AI Oliver is asked what happened to him, prompting the model to answer in a somewhat robotic monotone. Additionally, besides the avatar sounding computerized, the motions of its face and lips appear jerky and erratic.
'I appreciate your curiosity,' the avatar said. 'I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school. It's important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone.'
The AI model went on to talk about the need for 'a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support and community engagement' when asked how to curb gun violence. 'We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making everyone feel seen and heard. It's about building a culture of kindness and understanding,' it added.
Acosta also touched on some more casual topics in his conversation with the AI Oliver, such as asking the avatar about movies and the NBA. Following the interview, Acosta brought on Manuel to discuss his decision to use an artificially generated version of his son and whether he planned to continue to do so going forward.
'I understand that this is AI,' Manuel said. 'I don't want anyone to think that I am in, some way, trying to bring my son back. Sadly, I can't, right? I wish I could. However, the technology is out there.'
Manuel, who has become an outspoken gun control advocate since his son's death, also noted that the AI version of his son could help elevate the conversation about gun safety. 'We can just raise the voices,' he said. 'Now, Joaquin is going to start having followers… he's going to start uploading videos. This is just the beginning.'
Another reason Manuel and his wife Patricia created the AI version of Joaquin, he noted, was just to hear their son's voice again. 'Patricia will spend hours asking questions. Like any other mother, she loves to hear Joaquin saying, 'I love you, mommy.' And that's important,' he told Acosta.
'I really felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It's just a beautiful thing,' Acosta asserted to Manuel.
Acosta, who launched an online Substack show after leaving CNN earlier this year, quickly faced outrage when he posted the interview online. Critics described it as 'one of the most unhinged and grotesque things' while wondering why Acosta would even take part in it.
'This is so insane and evil. It should never be done. I'm speechless,' Reason's Robby Soave tweeted, prompting Acosta to respond with a video of Manuel pushing back on the criticism over the interview.
'Joaquin, known as Guac, should be 25 years old today. His father approached me to do the story… to keep the memory of his son alive,' Acosta declared.
'Today he should be turning 25 years old, and my wife Patricia and myself – we asked our friend Jim Acosta to… have an interview with our son because now, thanks to AI, we can bring him back,' Manuel said in the social media video response.
'It was our idea, it was our plan, and it's still our plan,' he continued. 'We feel that Joaquin has a lot of things to say, and as long as we have an option that allows us to bring that to you and to everyone, we will use it.'
Manuel ended the clip by asking critics to 'stop blaming people about where he's coming from, or blaming Jim about what he was able to do,' insisting that if 'the problem you have is with the AI, then you have the wrong problem.' Instead, Manuel concluded, the focus should remain on mass shootings.
'The real problem is that my son was shot eight years ago,' he stated. 'So if you believe that that is not the problem, you are part of the problem.'
Asked about the criticism he's faced online over the interview, Acosta told The Independent that he'd essentially reiterate much of what Manuel had to say about the backlash in his video.
'I think I would say this - the family of Joaquin reached out to me to see if I would help them remember their son,' Acosta said. 'My heart goes out to them and I was honored to help them in this moment. I think Joaquin's father makes a good point that if you're bothered more by this than the gun violence that took his son, then there is something truly wrong with our society.'
Meanwhile, Acosta's conversation isn't the first time that any of the victims of the Parkland shooting had been brought back via AI. Oliver, along with the voices of several other students and staff who were killed in the massacre, was used in a robocalling campaign for gun control last year called The Shotline.
'Six years ago, I was a senior at Parkland. Many students and teachers were murdered on Valentine's Day that year by a person using an AR-15 assault rifle,' the voice of Oliver stated in the call that was sent to lawmakers. 'It's been six years, and you've done nothing. Not a thing to stop all the shootings that have continued to happen since.'
The voice added: 'I'm back today because my parents used AI to re-create my voice to call you. How many calls will it take for you to care? How many dead voices will you hear before you finally listen?'
Additionally, AI avatars have been used to simulate victim impact statements in criminal cases. In May, for instance, an AI version of a man who was killed in a road rage shooting addressed the alleged killer in court. 'I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do,' the animated model of the victim said.
The judge in the case appeared moved by the video, which was produced by the victim's family. 'I loved that AI, thank you for that. As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness,' the judge said. 'I feel that that was genuine.'