In 2009, in a singing contest, Bao Xiaobo, a judge, bluntly said: “I am willing to use my identity to exchange for the stay or leave of Zeng Yike (a contestant). From now on, as long as there are such contestants, I can only say she stays and I go.”

To the outsiders, Bao Xiaobo is known as a “sharp-tongued judge” and a “top music producer”, but whenever he mentions his daughter Bao Rong, he also becomes a loving father, full of affection. Bao Xiaobo’s agent Wang Jun told NBD that he sees Bao Xiaobo as “peaceful” and positive.

The saddest thing in the world is “white-haired people sending off black-haired people”.

“The moment my daughter left, I felt that the meaning of life was gone. I wanted to give up and ruin myself.” On December 20, 2021, his 22-year-old daughter Bao Rong passed away due to illness, and Bao Xiaobo became lost.

Bao Xiaobo seemed to have seen his departed loved one again. On the evening of February 29, a video of Bao Xiaobo’s daughter Bao Rong “coming back to life” went viral on the internet. This was Bao Xiaobo’s answer to himself.

Photo/Bao Xiaobao revived his daughter with AI (video screenshot)

After his daughter passing away, Bao Xiaobo continued to pursue his PhD and started to study AI technology, and founded an AI company with his friends. Throughout the process, he endured countless ridicule and sarcasm, but when he played a simulated voice of his daughter, his wife was surprised to say that the voice was so similar. Bao Xiaobo told her: “This person is Bao Rong.”

“Although it is not the top technology of AI, but for ordinary people with zero foundation, it is very good to achieve this in two years.” Liu Xingliang, a digital economist and director of the DCCI Internet Research Institute, affirmed in an interview with NBD.

Driven by grief, rock star Bao Xiaobai embarks on a journey of AI research

Bao Xiaobai, a well-known Taiwanese musician and TV personality, has been through a lot in the past few years. In 2019, his 22-year-old daughter Bao Rong was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease. Bao Xiaobai donated bone marrow to his daughter, but the transplant failed due to a strong rejection reaction. Bao Rong passed away in December 2021.

Photo/Bilibili

Devastated by his daughter's death, Bao Xiaobai turned to artificial intelligence (AI) in search of solace. He believes that AI can be used to recreate his daughter's voice and appearance, allowing her to "live on" in the digital world.

Photo/Screenshot of an interview with Bao Xiaobao

To this end, Bao Xiaobai has been studying AI diligently and has even co-founded an AI technology company in Beijing. The company, called Yous Square Technology, was established in June 2023 with Bao Xiaobai holding a 25% stake.

Bao Xiaobai's story is a powerful reminder of the potential of AI to help us cope with grief and loss. It also shows how AI can be used to create new and meaningful experiences that would not be possible without this technology.

Bao Xiaobo’s AI Voice Quest: Using Technology to Retrieve Lost Love

At the end of 2023, in an interview, Bao Xiaobo revealed his dilemma, and he was even called “a dreamer” by AI professional engineers. “Everyone at her age has the right to enjoy their youth, but my daughter didn’t. As a father, I have the responsibility to continue her digital life.”

This music producer who once dominated the industry entered the AI field, and the process was not easy. Liu Xingliang, a digital economist and dean of the DCCI Internet Research Institute, said, “AI may be quite common, but it is still difficult for ordinary people to do it from scratch.”

Crossing the boundary was one thing, and the most difficult reality was that there was little voice left by her before she passed away. In September 2022, Bao Xiaobo contacted AI professional engineers and tried to rebuild his daughter’s voiceprint. However, what they needed first was at least 300 to 500 minutes of recording data from his daughter before she died.

But who would go to the recording studio in advance and record so much audio? He finally found only three sentences of English conversation between his daughter and his wife, and there was wind noise in the recording.

No AI engineer was optimistic about Bao Xiaobo’s whimsical ideas. He recalled that at first he didn’t even know what AI was. 

After stumbling around a big circle, Bao Xiaobo decided to study it himself. Until February 2023, with the rise of AIGC, many large enterprises began to share big data engines. Bao Xiaobo saw hope, he continued to try, and finally succeeded in rebuilding his daughter’s two-hour voiceprint with these three sentences of English conversation.

In this process, he first used noise reduction technology to process these three sentences, and then let AI learn his daughter’s language and tone. Finally, he successfully applied his daughter’s voice to the second stage - “singing”. Whether it was a new song or a cover, he could make his daughter’s voice perfectly presented.

Bao Xiaobo’s wife was surprised when she heard her daughter’s AI audio, saying that the voice was so similar. Bao Xiaobo told her affectionately: “This person is Bao Rong.”

Although every time he completed a piece of audio, Bao Xiaobo was heartbroken, but he always believed that this was a continuation of his miss for his daughter. He also admitted that this technology may be controversial in social ethics, but he hoped that it could provide a new way of mourning for those who miss their relatives.

Photo/Screenshot of an interview with Bao Xiaobao

After expressing his thoughts for his daughter, Bao Xiaobo also warned the audience: “AI technology fraud is coming, and it is related to everyone. Keep your data well before you die, and don’t give it to others easily.”

“From a personal perspective, I don’t want AI to do the ‘resurrection’ thing. I believe that everyone will feel very sad after talking to the digital person who has passed away. This will make people entangled with the deceased relatives, and the grief will continue.” Liu Xingliang told NBD.