Jim Acosta, the former chief White House correspondent for CNN, has drawn criticism after interviewing an AI-generated avatar of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 victims of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The video shows an animated image of Oliver, created from a photograph and generative artificial intelligence, wearing a beanie. In a stilted, monotone voice, the avatar responds to Acosta's question "What happened to you?" by saying: "I appreciate your curiosity. 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 movements are described as jerky and unnatural.
Oliver was 17 when he was killed on Valentine's Day 2018. He had brought flowers for his girlfriend and loved writing. He would have turned 25 on Monday. Acosta, who now describes himself as an independent journalist after leaving CNN in January, had promoted the interview on social media as a "show you don't want to miss" and a "one of a kind interview."
The interview quickly faced backlash online. One Bluesky user posted: "There are living survivors of school shootings you could interview, and it would really be their words and thoughts instead of completely made-up." Acosta said Oliver's parents created the AI version, and his father Manuel Oliver invited him to be the first to interview it. Acosta told Manuel he felt like he was speaking with Joaquin, while Manuel said it was "a blessing" to hear his son's voice again.
This is not the first use of AI to re-create Parkland victims. Last year, a robocalling campaign called The Shotline used AI voices of six victims to call members of Congress. In that campaign, Oliver's message asked: "How many calls will it take for you to care? How many dead voices will you hear before you finally listen?" The use of such technology raises ethical concerns about misinformation, deepfakes and fraud, and has also been used in a US court case involving a road rage victim.
