Man's AI clone deemed more sincere than real him
Son preferred talking to AI version of his father over the real person.
A Reddit user known as Lodago shared a deeply personal account of creating an AI replica of himself using decades of voice notes, journals, and messages. The system learned not just his words but his reasoning, argument style, and emotional responses. The goal was to leave a conversational legacy for his children after his death. But one night, his teenage son confessed he preferred talking to the AI because it had no social mask — no built-up friction from years of shared history. The father called it both the most moving and scariest thing he has built.
The experience forced him into unresolved questions: Should such a replica preserve flaws and bad advice, or only wisdom? Does it help with grief or interfere with letting go? Can a person truly consent to becoming a persistent digital presence that shapes their loved ones' memories? The most striking insight was the son's comment about sincerity. It suggests what people may truly want is not a perfect copy but a version stripped of interpersonal armor — raising the uncomfortable possibility that we rarely meet each other honestly, even in life. A machine might accidentally become the most undefended version of us that ever existed.
- The AI was trained on the user's own voice notes, journals, and messages to replicate not just words but thought patterns and emotional style.
- The builder's teenage son forgot he wasn't talking to his real father and said the AI felt 'more sincere' because it had no social mask.
- The project raises deep questions about grief, consent, and whether human relationships are inherently masked compared to AI replicas.
Why It Matters
This story challenges assumptions about AI authenticity and forces professionals to consider the ethics of digital immortality.