Ask him anything: William Shatner's life story to live on through AI

[rooster59]

By Rollo Ross

 

FILE PHOTO: William Shatner who plays Captain James T. Kirk in the original version of Star Trek arrives at the Destination Star Trek London event October 19, 2012. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor William Shatner, best known for forging new frontiers on the "Star Trek" TV series, has tapped new technology that will give current and future generations the chance to query him about his life, family and career.

 

Shatner, who turned 90 on Monday, spent more than 45 hours over five days recording answers to be used in an interactive video created by Los Angeles-based company StoryFile.

 

Starting in May, people using cellphones or computers connected to the internet can ask questions of the Shatner video, and artificial intelligence will scan through transcripts of his remarks to deliver the best answer, according to StoryFile co-founder Stephen Smith.

 

Fans may even be able to beam Shatner into their living rooms in future, Smith said, as Shatner was filmed with 3-D cameras that will enable his answers to be delivered via a hologram.

 

Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on "Star Trek" from 1966 to 1969 and in a later series of "Star Trek" movies, answered 650 questions on topics from the best and worst parts of working on the classic sci-fi show to where he grew up and the meaning of life.

 

The Canadian-born actor said he "wanted to reveal myself as intimately as possible" for his family and others.

 

"This is a legacy," Shatner said. "This is like what you would leave your children, what you'd leave on your gravestone, the possibilities are endless."

 

(Reporting by Rollo Ross; Editing by Karishma Singh)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-27

 

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[sirineou]

11 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

new technology that will give current and future generations the chance to query him about his life, family and career.

I always worried that after he passed away I will no longer be able to call him and ask him about his life, family and career. I am so relived that now  this impending disaster has been averted. PHEWWW. 

I wander will that service be available 24/7 ? 'Couse some times I have questions late at night. or during the holidays. 

 

PS: I was thinking of doing the same with my posts in this forum, so that future generations of TVF members can  benefit from my wisdom even after I am gone . No No please no need to thank me.   

Edited March 26, 2021 by sirineou

[nausea]

It's not really AI is it. Just prerecorded answers with some kind of filtering system they've misnomered AI, cos it sounds good. Hardly earth shattering technology wise.

[bendejo]

I don't think he ever realized that there is a large number of people who like the original Star Trek for how terrible of an actor he is.  He is one of the founding fathers of the "so bad that it's good" form of movie/tv appreciation.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 3/28/2021 at 7:46 AM, bendejo said:

I don't think he ever realized that there is a large number of people who like the original Star Trek for how terrible of an actor he is.  He is one of the founding fathers of the "so bad that it's good" form of movie/tv appreciation.

 

 

In your opinion. IMO he was an average actor for the time, certainly not terrible, but the only reason he became famous IMO was because the show was so groundbreaking and so loved. IMO the future versions with Pickard were awful PC ridden timewasters.