Joaquin Oliver's parents, Manuel and Patricia at a March for Our Lives rally in 2022.
The parents of Joaquin Oliver, one of the students killed in the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, have created an AI version of their late son, who partook in an interview with journalist Jim Acosta on Monday, Aug. 4.
The interview took place on what would have been Oliver’s 25th birthday. The conversation, which aired on Acosta’s Substack, found the journalist essentially talking with an animated photo of Oliver with moving lips and other small gestures. Oliver’s father, Manuel, said in an interview with Acosta that the AI model was trained on general information, as well as knowledge “based on things that [his son] wrote, he said, he posted.”
“This is a very legit Joaquin,” Manuel said.
The beginning of the interview found Acosta asking the AI Oliver questions about gun violence and how to curb it. “I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support, and community engagement,” the AI Oliver said. “We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making everyone feels seen and heard. It’s about building a culture of kindness and understanding.”
The rest of the conversation was more casual, with Acosta speaking with the AI Oliver about basketball and movies like Star Wars and Remember the Titans. Afterward, Acosta spoke with Manuel about his decision to use AI to re-animate his son, and his plans for the project 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 said one reason he and his wife, Patricia, created the AI of their son was to hear his voice again. “Patricia will spend hours asking questions,” Manuel said. “Like any other mother, she loves to hear Joaquin saying, ‘I love you, mommy.’ And that’s important.”
The other reason, Manuel said, was to add Oliver’s voice to conversations about gun safety. “We can just raise the voices,” Manuel said. “Now, Joaquin is going to start having followers… He’s going to start uploading videos. This is just the beginning.”
The full AI version of Oliver debuted one year after artificial intelligence was used to recreate the voices of six victims of gun violence — including Oliver’s — for a gun control campaign called The Shotline. These AI-generated messages were posted online and also used for direct calls to lawmakers in Washington D.C.
Since his son’s death, Manuel has been an outspoken gun control advocate. In 2022, he interrupted a speech by then-president Joe Biden on the passage of a modest gun control law, which Manuel criticized for not going far enough to address the problem. The following year, he and Patricia were ejected from a Congressional hearing on the second amendment after exchanging words with lawmakers. Manuel also created and starred in a one-man show about his son that he performed around the country.
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Here is a clip of the Jim Acosta interview with the AI version of Joaquin Oliver:
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