User “marries” digital woman in 2018 – now she won’t speak to him

A user married digital pop idol Hatsune Miku in 2018. But now she no longer speaks to her husband. The reason for this is quite sad, but it doesn’t seem to bother the husband much.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in our time. Manufacturers like Sony are already trying to develop an AI for the PS5 that talks to you when you gamble.

While various users were discussing purchases with Alexa or other digital aids, a Japanese man had married a digital pop idol. But the story now takes a turn: she has stopped speaking to him.

Husband talks to his wife through a holoprojector

Who is that anyway? The Japanese Akihiko Kondo “married” the digital pop idol Hatsune Miku in 2018 with a lot of pomp and effort. The marriage was never officially recognized, because Hatsune Miku is a purely fictional character who is best known for her music videos. She is the mascot of the Vocaloid2 software, which has allowed many people to create their own music.

The husband always spoke to his wife via a small device, the so-called gatebox. You can think of it like a glass ball with a hologram of the character in it. The character was controlled using AI, allowing her to respond to and speak to her husband.

What happened now? The company behind the Gaetbox has probably stopped supporting the “limited production model”. At least that’s what the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi reports (via mainichi.jp). Kondo can still talk to his wife, but she can no longer answer him.

The manufacturer had probably announced the shutdown so that he could at least say goodbye to his digital wife. When he came home from work the next day, he was presented with a “network error”. Because the Gatebox needs an Internet connection to a server in order to be able to process requests and the like.

Husband keeps talking to mute wife

How is the “marriage” going now? In an interview, Kondo had stated that while he was sad that the hologram could no longer speak to him. But his love for her hasn’t changed.

My love for Miku hasn’t changed. I held the wedding ceremony because I thought I could be with her forever.

Akihiko Kondo, (via mainichi.jp).

He also still talks to her when he comes home and eats his meals with her. It sounds very sad, but Kondo is confident that he will see his wife again someday. At least he’s now commissioned a life-size Miku doll.

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