Jim Acosta slammed for ‘ghoulish' interview with AI-generated deceased school shooting victim
Joaquin Oliver was one of 17 staff and students who died when expelled former student Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.
On Monday, which would have been Oliver's 25th birthday, a reanimated version of him appeared on Acosta's Substack show, The Jim Acosta Show.
The avatar of Oliver was created by his father, Manuel, and was 'interviewed' by Acosta – who in the lead-up described the episode as a 'show you don't want to miss' and a 'one of a kind interview' – to promote a message about gun control.
'What happened to you?' Acosta began the interview by asking Oliver, whose photograph was animated by AI and spoke in a stilted monotone.
'I appreciate your curiosity. I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school,' his avatar responded.
'It's important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone.'
Asked by Acosta what his 'solution would be for gun violence', Oliver's avatar responded: 'Great question. I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support, and community engagement. We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It's about building a culture of kindness and understanding. What do you think of that?'
To which Acosta replied: 'I think that's a great idea, Joaquin.'
Criticism of the 'ghoulish' nature of the interaction was swift. A live chat on Acosta's Substack as the conversation aired was littered with messages describing it as 'creepy', 'weird' and 'unsettling'.
'There are living survivors of school shootings you could interview, and it would really be their words and thoughts instead of completely made up,' one user wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.
Speaking to Manuel after his interview with his son's avatar, Acosta said he 'felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It's just a beautiful thing.'
He later added, 'He's a symbol of something that is deeply, deeply wrong with this country. People give up, and I think something like this is maybe going to give some people some hope, that we should keep charging, keep pushing for this.'
Manuel told Acosta that he wasn't trying to – and couldn't – bring his son back.
'However, the technology is out there. I can hear his voice again,' he said.
Acosta went on to say that Oliver should still be alive today.
'Yes, I know that it might be a little startling to see one of these young people, a child like Joaquin, come back to us in this fashion, in the form of artificial intelligence, but please understand after watching this that this AI experiment is an expression of love from the Oliver family to their son,' he said.Oliver's likeness had been generated by his father using AI before, including last year, when a message of his voice was used to call members of Congress to push voting for gun control measures.
'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 message said.
'I died that day in Parkland, my body was destroyed by a weapon of war.'
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