CS&E Alum Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad Featured in Discover Magazine and PBS Documentary
Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) Alumni Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad (PhD, 2011) was recently featured in an issue of Discover Magazine (Nov/Dec) for his work using artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate one’s deceased loved ones. Ahmad and his family were also featured in a PBS documentary that showcased how his children interact with the text-based chatbot that simulates his late father.
Currently a faculty member at the University of Washington Bothell and a researcher at Harborview Medical Center, Ahmad established the building blocks for this project while studying behavior modeling during his PhD program at the University of Minnesota (UMN). In the final years of the program, his father became ill and Ahmad began working on the special chatbot.
“While my family was grappling with the fact that my father was going to die, I was thinking about how my future kids would not have the experience of knowing their grandfather in person,” Ahmad said. “That’s when I had the idea of one day creating a simulation of my father that future family members could interact with. I think my work with behavioral modeling at UMN was one of the unconscious motivators for this idea.”
After his oldest daughter was born in 2015, Ahmad started working on an AI chatbot using letters, texts, videos and audio conversations from his late father. The first version was completed in 2016 which allows his children to type in questions and get answers in the voice and persona of their grandfather.
“The goal is to give my kids an interactive experience with their grandfather so they can build an emotional connection beyond what I can help them build by telling them stories,” Ahmad said. “I want them to be able to relate to him more personally. I think it opens the door to conversations that would otherwise not be possible.”
This project has continued to expand over the years, even adding some interactive audio features to the system. The audio component presents new challenges with mastering the accent of his father in two different languages - English and Urdu. Eventually, he hopes to develop a digital avatar for his father as AI capabilities continue to advance.
“This project is an extension of the work I was doing at the UMN with behavioral modeling in video games. Through that work, I realized that there are aspects of day-to-day conversations that can be emulated with relative ease. Additionally, I think one huge benefit to my work at UMN was the interdisciplinary nature. We worked with behavioral psychologists and communicators from different universities. I think that environment helps you see your work through a new lens.”
Ahmad was advised by CS&E professor Jaideep Srivastava during his time at the UMN and credits his PhD mentors for helping build his career to what it is today. In addition to his chatbot project, he also works in AI in healthcare, specifically problems related to end-of-life care.
“If you think about AI in the span of the last few years, it is clear that AI is going to be everywhere. It is going to be super important in the workforce and will lead to new types of jobs and new ways to do existing jobs. My advice for students would be to think beyond the technical problems and consider the ethical and social implications of technology. Just being technical will not be sufficient; we need the interdisciplinary mindset to meaningfully improve the world.”
Learn more about Ahmad’s work at his personal website.