Suzanne Somers' Widower Sparks Debate After Revealing He's Created An AI Robot Clone Of Her

Alan Hamel, the husband of the late actor Suzanne Somers—best knwon for her starring role on Three's Company—has revealed he is working on an AI-generated version of his late wife, telling People magazine that he is working on "a really interesting project, the Suzanne AI Twin."

Somers died a day shy of her 77th birthday in October 2023 after a long battle with breast cancer. Somers was first diagnosed more than two decades ago and dealt with the disease largely in private. Her passing inspired an outpouring of grief from many old co-workers and longtime friends.

The AI robot was modeled after Somers and trained on all 27 of her books, along with “hundreds of interviews” she gave throughout her career.

Hamel said he found the robot “perfect” after interacting with it at the conference:

"It was Suzanne. I asked her a few questions, and she answered them, and it blew me and everybody else away. When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can't tell the difference. It's amazing."

"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."

According to Hamel, Somers had expressed interest in the idea years before her death.

He said the topic first came up in the 1980s, when the couple met inventor and AI scientist Ray Kurzweil:

"It was Suzanne's idea. 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. So that's the reason we did it."

Hamel admitted it was “a little strange” when he first spoke to Somers’ AI. But over time, he said, he “forgot about the fact that I was talking to a robot” and grew accustomed to it. He said he hopes longtime fans who “miss her terribly” will have a similar experience. He plans to make the AI available online so people can “come and just hang out with her.”

You can see the Somers AI in action below.

You can see a news report about Hamel's announcement below.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The news was not well-received.

During her life, Somers wrote more than two dozen books—many of them about health and fitness—and made "hundreds of millions" as the spokeswoman in a series of infomercials for the Thighmaster.

Hamel added that the interviews and material drawn from Somers’ books for the AI project were cleared by the vitamin and supplement company Life Extension, which he said can vouch for the AI’s accuracy.

Hamel said "the last thing we wanted was to have any issues about providing interviews about people’s health issues that were incorrect."