This New AI App Lets You “Call the Dead”… And It’s Terrifying 👀

Why It Matters

Two‑Way illustrates how AI can turn deeply personal experiences like grief into a commercial product, raising urgent ethical, legal, and mental‑health questions that could shape future regulation and consumer acceptance of immersive AI technologies.

Summary

The video spotlights Two‑Way, a new AI‑driven application launched by Disneystar that claims to let users “call the dead” by generating lifelike, two‑way avatars of deceased relatives from just a few minutes of recorded video. The app stitches together facial movements, voice patterns and contextual responses to create a conversational replica that can interact across a person’s lifespan, a concept that instantly evokes the dystopian tone of shows like Black Mirror.

Two‑Way’s beta is currently free on the Apple App Store, with a subscription model slated for rollout and an Android version on the horizon. A promotional clip featuring an AI‑generated grandmother conversing with her grandson from childhood to adulthood went viral, sparking a firestorm of criticism on Twitter. Detractors label the technology “demonic,” “objectively evil,” and accuse the company of monetizing grief, while ethicists warn that the product blurs the line between therapeutic chatbot use and manipulative grief exploitation.

The video cites specific reactions: users expressed both awe and horror at the realism of the avatars, and early reviewers highlighted the lack of consent from the deceased as a glaring ethical blind spot. The app’s ability to simulate nuanced emotional exchanges—such as a grandmother offering advice at different life stages—has been compared to the speculative scenarios depicted in Black Mirror’s “Be Right Back,” underscoring the cultural resonance and alarm the technology provokes.

Industry analysts see Two‑Way as a litmus test for the next wave of AI products that monetize intimate human experiences. If unchecked, such tools could normalize the commodification of mourning, potentially prompting regulatory scrutiny around consent, data privacy, and mental‑health safeguards. Companies venturing into this space will need to balance innovation with robust ethical frameworks to avoid eroding consumer trust and inviting backlash that could stifle broader AI adoption.

Original Description

The viral 2wai app uses AI “HoloAvatars” to recreate deceased loved ones for FaceTime-style conversations—raising massive ethical concerns and sparking public backlash.