Alan Hamel and Suzanne Sommers | Source: Getty Images
Alan Hamel Creates an AI Replica of Late Wife Suzanne Somers
The film producer, who lost his wife of 55 years to cancer just a couple of years ago, said the project had always been her idea. He shared that her AI replica is nearly impossible to tell apart from the late actress.
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Alan Hamel is honoring his wife, Suzanne Somers, and her wishes following her death. The actress passed away in late 2023, soon after which Hamel began setting the plans they had discussed for decades into motion.
Alan Hamel and Suzanne Somers Visit ET Canada to Promote her novel "Knockout" at the ET Canada Studios on October 26, 2009, in Toronto, Canada. | Source: Getty Images
"Obviously, Suzanne was greatly loved, not only by her family, but by millions of people. One of the projects that we have coming up is a really interesting project, the Suzanne AI Twin," Hamel told People in an interview published Monday, October 20.
The media personality revealed that he showcased a demo of Somers' AI twin at a conference earlier this year. To truly replicate her likeness and speech cadence, the clone was trained on all 27 of her books and hundreds of her interviews.
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"It was Suzanne. And I asked her a few questions and she answered them, and it blew me and everybody else away," Hamel recalled. "When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can't tell the difference."
Suzanne Somers poses for a portrait in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
"It's amazing," he continued. "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."
Although AI is still relatively novel to most, Hamel shared that he and Somers began talking about this project in the 1980s. The concept was introduced to them by their friends, computer scientist and author Ray Kurzweil.
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Suzanne Somers and her husband, Canadian television host Alan Hamel, smile as they attend the Simon Wiesenthal Dinner at Century Plaza Hotel in November 1980 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
"So it was Suzanne's idea," Hamel explained. "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.'"
"She said, 'Let's do it,'" he continued. "So that's the reason we did it. And so I love being able to fulfill her wish." Hamel admitted that speaking to the AI version of his wife was "a little strange" at first, but two to three minutes in, he had completely forgotten he was speaking to her clone.
Suzanne Somers attends the 28th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards Gala at Palm Springs Convention Center on January 2, 2017, in Palm Springs, California. | Source: Getty Images
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"It happens that fast for me, getting used to the whole idea," he said. Once the Suzanne AI Twin is ready, it will be available on her website, SusanSomers.com.
"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. They can ask her any questions they want. She'll be available 24/7, and I think it'll be really wonderful," Hamel said.
Somers, who was known for her roles in "Three's Company" and "Step by Step," passed away on October 15, 2023, just one day shy of her 77th birthday. In a statement shared by her longtime publicist, R. Couri Hay, her death was attributed to breast cancer, which had previously gone into remission in 2007.
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