Suzanne Somers’ husband, Alan Hamel, is using modern technology to create a clone of the late actress two years after her death.
“Obviously, Suzanne was greatly loved, not only by her family, but by millions of people,” Hamel, 89, told People in an interview published on Tuesday, October 21. “One of the projects that we have coming up is a really interesting project, the Suzanne AI Twin.”
Hamel said that he and Somers, who died at age 76 in October 2023 after a battle with breast cancer, began discussing the idea of an AI clone after they met computer scientist Ray Kurzweil in the ‘80s.
“We have been friends with Ray Kurzweil. Bill Gates described Ray Kurzweil as the smartest man on the planet, which he is. And he became our friend 30-some years ago and we talked about this. We knew it was coming. It took decades to happen, but he knew it was going to happen, and he shared that information with us,” Hamel explained, adding that it was “Suzanne’s idea” to make her AI “twin.”
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“And she said, ‘I think we should do that.’ She said, ‘I think it’ll be very interesting, and we’ll provide a service to my fans and to people who have been reading my books who really want and need information about their health,’” Hamel continued of the late Three’s Company star, whom he married in 1977. “She said, ‘Let’s do it.’ So that’s the reason we did it. And so I love being able to fulfill her wish.”
The Canadian television host said that Somers’ AI clone was trained using the 27 books she authored and “hundreds of interviews” that she did over the years.
Hamel debuted the clone at a public demonstration back in March. Attendees got to witness a robot version of Somers, which was created with robotics company Realbotix Corp and Hollo.AI, answer questions about the actress’ relationship with Hamel.
“[Alan] is my partner in everything, from life to love,” the AI said at the demonstration. “We shared so many beautiful memories together.”
In his interview, Hamel recalled everyone being in awe when he interacted with the AI robot.
“It was Suzanne. And I asked her a few questions and she answered them, and it blew me and everybody else away,” he said. “When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can’t tell the difference. It’s amazing. And I mean, I’ve been with Suzanne for 55 years, so I know what her face looks like, and when I just look at the two of them side by side, I really can’t tell which one is the real and which one is the AI.”
Hamel also shared that his and Somers’ families have come around to the idea of the AI clone.
“I feel really good about being able to deliver what Suzanne wanted and doing so that it’ll be something that basically will, should, go on for generations. I think our family loves the idea, really loves the idea. We’ve talked about it a lot,” he explained. “And they said, ‘We’re going to get to the point where it’s not going to seem weird, and it’ll just be another way to communicate with people we cared about.’”
Hamel continued, “I’m glad to hear that from my family because I wasn’t sure how they would take it, but they’re all young and very successful, and they thought this would be a great tribute to Suzanne herself.”
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Hamel said that, after he was appointed a member of the Kennedy Center’s committee to choose their honorees for the year, he pitched Somers in the hopes that her AI could stand in to accept the award in her honor. Though Hamel said he “couldn’t get them to go for it,” he has other plans for the AI.
“Once I’m satisfied that we have everything, then we’ll put her on SuzanneSomers.com, and we’ll invite all her fans and all our customers to come and talk to her. They can come and just hang out with her,” he revealed. “They can ask her any questions they want. She’ll be available 24/7, and I think it’ll be really wonderful.”
