Suzanne Somers “Returns” as AI Clone Created by Her Husband

Television producer Alan Hamel, the widower of beloved actress Suzanne Somers, says he has created an AI clone of his late wife so lifelike that he “can’t tell the difference” between it and the real person.

In an interview with People, Hamel, 89, revealed the project, called the Suzanne AI Twin, was developed using hundreds of interviews and Somers’ 27 published books as training material. Somers, who rose to fame as Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company, died of breast cancer in 2023 at the age of 76.

“Obviously, Suzanne was greatly loved, not only by her family, but by millions of people,” Hamel told the magazine. “One of the projects that we have coming up is a really interesting project — the Suzanne AI Twin.”

According to Hamel, the result was uncanny. “It was Suzanne,” he said. “I asked her a few questions and she answered them, and it blew me and everybody else away. When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can’t tell the difference. I really can’t tell which one is the real and which one is the AI.”

How the Suzanne AI Twin Works

Hamel said the AI version of his wife was created to preserve her voice, personality, and lifelong mission of sharing health and wellness advice. The program was trained on Somers’ extensive media appearances, her writing, and her decades of work promoting alternative health treatments.

The clone will eventually be hosted on SuzanneSomers.com, where fans will be able to “hang out with her,” ask questions, and receive health guidance “any time, day or night,” Hamel said. He claimed that all of the AI’s medical information was vetted by doctors before being made public.

Somers’ fans “can come and just hang out with her,” Hamel told People.

They can ask her any questions they want. She’ll be available 24/7, and I think it’ll be really wonderful.

While Hamel described the technology as comforting and even “beautiful,” experts have raised ethical and scientific concerns about AI models dispensing medical advice. Artificial intelligence tools are known to “hallucinate” or fabricate information, which could lead to misinformation being spread under the guise of Somers’ authority.

Hamel, however, maintains that the project is meant as a tribute — a way for fans and family to stay connected to Somers’ voice and message.

A Longtime Interest in Futurism

According to Hamel, the idea wasn’t his alone. He said Somers herself supported the concept before her death and that it was inspired by futurist and computer scientist Ray Kurzweil, a longtime friend of the couple.

“We knew it was coming,” Hamel said of AI cloning. “It took decades to happen, but [Kurzweil] knew it was going to happen, and he shared that information with us.”

Hamel said Somers thought the idea was “very interesting” and believed it could “provide a service to my fans and to people who have been reading my books who really want and need information about their health.”

The couple had reportedly discussed the idea for years before Somers’ death, seeing it as a way to preserve her legacy in the digital age.

From AI to Robotics

Earlier this year, Us Weekly reported that Hamel had also been working with humanoid robotics company Realbotix to develop a “digital twin” of Somers — possibly a physical robot counterpart to the AI version.

An image shared by the publication in March showed an early prototype that bore little resemblance to the late actress, leading to speculation that a more advanced model may be in development. Hamel has not confirmed whether the robotic twin and the AI project are connected.

The Ethics of Digital Grief

Hamel’s project has reignited debate around the growing industry of AI “resurrections,” where artificial intelligence is used to recreate deceased loved ones.

In recent years, tech companies have begun offering “digital immortality” services, creating voice-activated chatbots or video avatars of the dead based on old recordings, photos, and text data. A UK startup even made headlines in 2022 for allowing an AI recreation of a woman to “attend” her own funeral.

Critics argue that these technologies blur the lines between remembrance and denial, potentially prolonging grief instead of resolving it. Others see them as a natural extension of how people preserve memories in the digital era.

Keeping Suzanne’s Voice Alive

For Hamel, though, the project appears deeply personal. He and Somers were married for 55 years, collaborating on countless books, business ventures, and television appearances.

“If anyone would know whether it’s really her, it would be Alan,” a family friend told People. “He’s not trying to replace her — he’s just trying to keep her presence alive.”

Whether the Suzanne AI Twin will comfort fans or spark controversy remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: even in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, the line between love, loss, and technology is becoming harder to define.

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