In what may be an unsettling sign of what’s to come as artificial intelligence continues to infiltrate daily life, former CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta posted an “interview” with an AI-generated avatar of a Parkland school shooting victim who was killed in 2018.
The conversation lasted five minutes and touched on everything from the interactive AI’s favorite sports to gun control. And while Acosta called the experience “a beautiful thing,” he is under fire for what many found to be a disturbing display.
On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk to discuss the “awful” and “exploitative” use of AI and the dangers of the technology we are only starting to grapple with as a society.
The AI Interview
Acosta posted a video to his YouTube and Substack Monday in which he conversed with an “AI version” of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.
Introducing the AI avatar as his “first guest,” Acosta asked questions about Joaquin’s death, gun violence, and hobbies. “Joaquin, it’s Jim Acosta,” the interview began. “I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to you.”
“I appreciate your curiosity,” the AI said in a young man’s voice with a distinctively robotic cadence. “I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school. It’s important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone.”
Acosta also asked the robot what “his solution would be for gun violence.”
“I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support and community engagement. We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It’s about building a culture of kindness and understanding,” the technology responded. “Though my life was cut short, I want to keep inspiring others to connect and advocate for change.”
Following the AI “interview,” Joaquin’s father, Manuel Oliver, joined a clearly awestruck Acosta. “I’m kind of speechless as to the technology there,” Acosta said. “It was so insightful. I really felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It’s just a beautiful thing.”
He also claimed the technology allowed the public to hear directly from a victim. “What’s amazing about this is… we’ve heard from the parents. We’ve heard from the politicians,” Acosta claimed. “Now, we’re hearing from the kids, which is so important.”
Oliver said the avatar is trained on things his son wrote, said, and posted online before he was killed. The family created the interactive AI in part so Oliver and his wife could hear Joaquin’s voice again and in part so it can be used to advocate for gun safety. “Now, Joaquin is going to start having followers… He’s going to start uploading videos,” Oliver told Acosta. “This is just the beginning.”
‘Shocking Depravity’
Acosta has received massive backlash following the release of the hour-long episode, but he has defended his actions by saying it was the Oliver family’s idea. Megyn said that detail is “almost irrelevant” given the circumstances and called the stunt “shocking in its depravity.”
“Your job as the journalist is to not exploit the dead or grieving family members for ratings… but this is next level… A grieving family member coming to you with an idea like this must be hugged, and loved, and understood, but not platformed [or] indulged on this,” she explained. “Jim Acosta was only too happy to put this AI version of a dead child on his show and interview him. It was truly jarring. It was so exploitative. It was deeply wrong.”
Kirk called the episode an “obvious exploitation campaign” by a “disgusting person” and said there was a different way to have handled the situation. “It would be one thing if he talked to the father solely… It could have been maybe kind of a heartfelt,” he said. “But for him to interview [the AI] like he is Barbara Walters or he is sitting down for a major interview? That tells us everything we already knew about Jim Acosta.”
The Future of AI
With AI on the rise in virtually all aspects of life, Megyn said it is time for public policy to catch up. “My separate worry is AI should not be used like this on the airwaves,” she declared. “Whatever his parents do to bring themselves comfort, that’s fine… But when someone dies… it should not be lawful for journalists or… commentators to use their image and create fake conversations with them… It is just deeply wrong.”
She believes it sets a “dangerous” precedent. “I understand everyone involved thought that this is what this child would say if asked these questions, [but] I’m still totally uncomfortable with it,” Megyn added. “AI is going to a place that is potentially really dangerous, and it is already spinning out of control… The law hasn’t caught up with the technology.”
Kirk agreed. “I don’t think we are nearly equipped… I think it is going to be the AI century,” he explained. “I think it is the greatest shift that we are going to see since the Industrial Revolution. And I think we are underestimating how much it is going to change our lives, and change our perceptions, and change our relationships. Anything to the contrary is just delusional or willful ignorance.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Kirk by tuning in to episode 1,123 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.