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Holograms of deceased loved ones

iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
I just randomly had this thought and figured I would share it. With the reveal of the HoloLens, i think it's within reason to believe that holograms will be part of our every day lives within a decade. I think it's also within reason that you will be able to create a hologram out of any 3D object, person, or animal. Just the same way we take a photo today. Only difference is that the holograms could be life sized, 3 dimensional, and all around more life like than a simple photo. What if you could also make a recording of someone doing or saying something and turn that into a hologram? Again, these ideas are completely within the realm of reason and will probably be reality soon.

This bring us to the question, what do you do with holograms of deceased loved ones? As if it's not hard enough seeing photos of them, what if you had a holographic recording of your mom standing in front of you telling you she loves you? Is this something you would appreciate having after she's gone, or would it be too difficult for you to see a hologram of your mom after she's gone? I know, depressing topic, but I thought it was interesting.

Also, what other potential problems can you envision holograms causing some people? I can see a potential for some people to create virtual worlds for themselves with holograms, get addicted, and leave reality behind. Many have already done this with virtual life computer games, but holograms can make it much worse. Discuss!
 
I'm not personally thrilled with this idea.

If it's just a hologram of a person that might be one thing. If it's the essentially a 3D photo or video, it's not particularly different than a regular photo or video. I would find having a life size representation creepy though, like having a virtual wax dummy of the deceased hanging around.

If it had artificial intelligence, it most likely would not be healthy. The AI would likely be unable to reproduce the personality of the deceased and wouldn't have the same memory either. This would either make people not like it, or confuse them. Some people would likely become very delusional in their grief.

Isn't there a movie where a guy falls in love with a "girlfriend" that is actually a computer program? I saw a trailer for it, but never the movie. It looked quite terrible.

Another problem could be people may think they are seeing ghosts :D :p
 
Any technology that includes porn will succeed. Imagine having holographic real size porn. Actually porn was what led VHS to win against Betamax. And was the first reason to make the internet grow... no email.
 
senseless said:
Fascinating idea. Someone told me Microsoft is working on hologram tech.
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Yep, that would be the HoloLens I mentioned in the OP. It's already been announced and should be on the market in the next year or two.
Renzatic said:
That's more like augmented reality taken a few steps beyond. What he's talking about would be more akin to projected statues, which isn't too bad an idea, but given the context, would have to be done tastefully and carefully.
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No, actually I was talking about the HoloLens. I think that we're still a long time away from being able to view holograms with the naked eye, and in the near future our only means of seeing holograms will be through a lens of some sort. Of course, the HoloLens will be equipped with cameras. So theoretically you should be able to create a hologram of any person or object with the built in camera and save it to your HoloLens for viewing whenever you want.
 
iBlazed said:
No, actually I was talking about the HoloLens. I think that we're still a long time away from being able to view holograms with the naked eye, and in the near future our only means of seeing holograms will be through a lens of some sort. Of course, the HoloLens will be equipped with cameras. So theoretically you should be able to create a hologram of any person or object with the built in camera and save it to your HoloLens for viewing whenever you want.
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Your idea could work without using something like the HoloLens, but it wouldn't be a little box you'd place on the ground that'd cast a fully realized 3D image of your recently deceased loved one on thin air. It'd have to be inside an enclosure of some sort. Like rectangular vanity mirrors, extruded into three dimensions.

The HoloLens idea is a good one, but it has the disadvantage of only being viewable by the person using it, and you always have to have it around to see it. Though its one big advantage would be faked "interaction" with the departed. Like they could talk to you, sit on the furniture, or navigate around the house, all seen from your perspective through the HoloLens.

...though that might be crossing the line of good taste, and stepping into the realm of the potentially creepy.
 
Keep in mind that Microsoft's Hololens has nothing to do with holography. It's just a catchy name for video screens in front of your face, much like Oculus Rift.
 
chabig said:
Keep in mind that Microsoft's Hololens has nothing to do with holography. It's just a catchy name for video screens in front of your face, much like Oculus Rift.
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Sorta, but not quite. The Rift is basically a big box you put on your face, and it's not entirely self contained. It requires a connection to a computer to do what it does. The HoloLens are a pair of glasses with a small computer inside that can project opaque graphics onto clear glass.

It has more in common with Google Glass, though the technology is much more impressive. Probably a lot more expensive, too.
 
Renzatic said:
The HoloLens idea is a good one, but it has the disadvantage of only being viewable by the person using it, and you always have to have it around to see it. Though its one big advantage would be faked "interaction" with the departed. Like they could talk to you, sit on the furniture, or navigate around the house, all seen from your perspective through the HoloLens.

...though that might be crossing the line of good taste, and stepping into the realm of the potentially creepy.
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In my opinion, it's definitely in creepy territory. Thing is, you just know that it's one of the things some people will be using this technology for if they have the chance to. I really feel like this will cause psychological problems for some people. The overwhelming grief combined with the ability to see your departed loved one standing in front of you almost as if they're actually there can really mess with people.

And that's just one example of creepy things this technology can enable. Imagine nutjobs having bbq parties with holograms of all their favorite celebs. :eek:
 
No. It's a really, really icky idea.

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No interest in this. I think I would have a hard time letting go and getting closure if I had a hologram of my deceased loved one haunting my life.
 
iBlazed said:
Imagine that but not and not at all transparent. Even ickier.
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Presumably the Star Fleet Surgeon General had issued guidance on the degree of reality that was desirable. I would imagine that a full-on holodeck Tasha Yar would have been considered to be potentially psychologically damaging.
 
Holographic technology might bring about a drop in those maintaining refrigerators in which to store cadavers of loved ones.
 
They had the 3D printing expo at Javits this week. One booth had a full body scanner that resulted in a matching plastic figurine. A somewhat less auspicious method of capture resulted in a matching bobble-headed figure.
 
not thrilled

I would not want to see any holograms of my deceased family members or friends... i do believe that holograms will be part of our life within the next decade but I would not want to see any dead person as a hologram. Although in 2012, they had a hologram of Tupac at Coachella!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGbrFmPBV0Y
 
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