If there is an act of love, that is to remember. 

     – Montserrat Roig

I’ve been immersed in discussions of AI-fueled applications lately – all are stunning, many are promising, some are creepy, and most are at least a little unsettling. One of the more captivating ideas involves creation of “synthetic memories” – conjuring up realistic images based on descriptions and archived materials.

It’s easy to see how this capability might be valuable, and healing – and of course there are also lots of big questions to be explored. Beyond the technological wizardry, one motivation noted by its creators rang true – the idea that remembering is an act of love.

When I snuggle up with my niece to look at old family photos, that’s love. When we zoom down into satellite images to see our childhood elementary school and my 11-year-old self gets to connect with hers, that’s love. When we make my grandma’s homemade noodles for chicken pot pie, just the way our own mom taught us, that’s love.

Our memories cross great distances, collapsing time and space, connecting us beyond geography and circumstance and even life itself.

Dear ones, regardless of what our techno-futures might hold, may we cherish and honor our pasts.

May we keep our memories alive, through stories and songs and images and our own actions.

May we live lives that sow seeds of their own remembrance,

in all the ways that matter. 

*** Here is some more on the AI project for those who are interested: https://www.syntheticmemories.net