[A former CNN journalist has interviewed an AI-powered avatar created by the parents of one of the teenagers killed in a school shooting, attempting to evoke a sense of their son’s presence after death. The details are presented in the story from Variety below, followed by some reactions (which may or may not be representative) in excerpts of coverage from Futurism. You can watch for yourself via the Variety story or on YouTube. –Matthew]

Jim Acosta Interviews AI Version of Teenager Killed in Parkland Shooting: ‘It’s Just a Beautiful Thing’

By Ethan Shanfeld
August 5, 2025

Jim Acosta, the former CNN chief White House correspondent who now hosts an independent show on YouTube, has published an interview with an AI-generated avatar of Joaquin Oliver, who died at age 17 in the Parkland school shooting in 2018.

The interactive AI was created by Oliver’s parents, who granted Acosta the first “interview” with the recreated version of their son on what would have been his 25th birthday. Oliver was one of 17 people killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Acosta asked AI Oliver about his solution for gun violence, to which the avatar responded: “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.”

The avatar added, “Though my life was cut short, I want to keep inspiring others to connect and advocate for change.”

Acosta then asked AI Oliver about his personal life, such as his favorite sport and favorite basketball team. The two discussed the movie “Remember the Titans” and their favorite “Star Wars” moments.

After a five-minute chat with the AI, Acosta then connected with Oliver’s father, Manuel Oliver. “I’m kind of speechless as to the technology there,” Acosta said. “It was so insightful. I really felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It’s just a beautiful thing.”

Manuel, who has been an outspoken voice in the push for gun control, said he believed bringing “AI Joaquin to life” would “create more impact.” According to Manuel, the avatar is trained on information on the internet as well as things Oliver wrote, said and posted online. He said he wanted to make it clear to viewers that he is under no illusions about reviving his son.

“I understand that this is AI. I don’t want anyone to think that I am, in some way, trying to bring my son back,” he said. “Sadly, I can’t, right? I wish I could. However, the technology is out there.”

Manuel said they created the AI, in part, so that he and his wife Patricia could hear their son’s voice again. “Patricia will spend hours asking questions,” he said. “Like any other mother, she loves to hear Joaquin saying, ‘I love you, Mommy.’” They also launched this project so that Oliver could have a voice in conversations around gun safety. “Now, Joaquin is going to start having followers… He’s going to start uploading videos. This is just the beginning.”

Manuel said he is excited about the future of the project and what it means for his son’s legacy.

“What’s amazing about this is that we’ve heard from the parents, we’ve heard from the politicians. Now we’re hearing from one of the kids,” Acosta said. “That’s important. That hasn’t happened.”

Manuel said he plans to have AI Oliver “on stage in the middle of a debate,” and that “his knowledge is unlimited.”

Acosta’s interview comes one year after a gun control campaign recreated the voices of six Parkland victims, including Oliver’s, using AI. The messages were circulated online and sent as direct calls to federal lawmakers. In the years following the Parkland shooting, Manuel has been on the front line of gun control advocacy. In 2022, he interrupted a televised speech by Joe Biden celebrating the passage of gun control legislation, which Manuel criticized as too moderate. And in 2023, Manuel was arrested after interrupting a congressional hearing on the Second Amendment with his wife, Patricia. Manuel also created a one-man show about grief that he performed across the country.

Watch Acosta’s interview below [in the original story or via YouTube].

—

[From Futurism]

Public Horrified by Jim Acosta’s Latest Stunt

“This is absolutely deranged.”

By Victor Tangermann
August 5, 2025

Former CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta drew near-universal criticism for conducting an astonishingly tone-deaf “interview” with an AI avatar of one of the victims of the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

[snip]

Oliver’s recreated face appears jerky and misshapen, an awkward representation of the 17-year-old.

Instead of sparking a meaningful discussion about the tens of thousands of annual firearms-related deaths and injuries that occur in the US every year, Acosta’s interview was met with widespread outrage.

“An animated skin put over a computer model and given the same name as the dead son of grieving parents is a cursed golem and a full delusion,” tech journalist Kelsey Atherton wrote in a post on Bluesky. “By interviewing the computer model, Acosta has asked us to accept this as true or real. Gun control deserves better.”

Acosta, who turned down an offer to continue his tenure at CNN in January in favor of launching an independent show, attempted to drum up excitement for the stunt by claiming his chat with the AI was a “one of a kind interview.”

What the former CNN anchor clearly didn’t predict was that his audience was already primed to be wary of tone-deaf uses of AI tech.

Observers on Bluesky and X-formerly-Twitter were quick to point out the insensitivity and obliviousness of Acosta’s stunt.

“This is absolutely deranged,” one user wrote. “This isn’t an interview, there’s nobody on the other end — you might as well have a conversation with your microwave.”

“There are several mythological stories on why this precise thing is bad and wrong,” another user offered.

“This made me uncomfortable,” one YouTube account wrote. “‘I’m not emotionally ready to deal with this form of AI.”

“Just passed two years without my Mom, and I can’t imagine using AI to make a video or photo that never happened,” another added. “It’s a really dangerous precedent to set for people who aren’t dealing with their grief and giving it more power over them than it should.”

Another user pointed out that “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’s stunt isn’t without precedent. We’ve already come across a family using AI to revive a man who was killed during a road rage incident, as well as a storm of startups that claim to let you converse with deceased loved ones.

The parents of the victims of the Parkland shooting also used AI previously. Last year, they tried to convince members of Congress by using deepfaked voices of six deceased students and staff as part of a robocalling campaign.

[snip to end]