AI being used to preserve family history

Well, a flood or a hurricane can wash away decades of family photos in an instant. But even if those memories survive, many of us might not know how to pass down the stories that they leave behind or what the next generation wants to hear. Yeah, tonight, FOX 13's Ariel Placencia shows us how a Tampa Bay resident built an app to help people tell their stories, whether they're tracing their roots or maybe just painting a masterpiece. Every piece, I attack differently. It all started when COVID made life feel a little gray, and Stacey Lipton decided to add some watercolor. For me, I don't use lots of pigment, I just keep layering the paint over on it. Bringing a blank canvas to life, that's no problem for the Lakewood Ranch resident. But writing down her watercolor journey to share at art shows, that's when Stacey found herself staring at a blank page. That is, until she found her voice. Bringing the spirit of Florida to life on paper through an AI-driven app. Once the water and pigment hit the paper, they're off to the races, and I just hang on for the ride. Stacey used this app to explain how water brings her art to life. It's taking my inputs. But fellow Lakewood Ranch resident Mike O'Donnell actually invented the tech because of what water washed away. I had bought my parents a place to retire in Pascagoula, Mississippi. And they loved it there. But this is all that was left after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. The house completely gone. And along with it, three generations of photo albums, family movies, and memories. I was like heartbroken. I'm like, that was for my kids to see one day and for me to see. So Mike reached out to long lost cousins, family, friends, anybody who might have old photos. But he learned pictures themselves aren't always worth a thousand words. And of course, I have to call him up and say, I've never seen this picture. Who's in it? And well, I think they would say, they would say, and I'd say, what's this about? Well, I, and then they would tell me a story. And I'd say, I never heard that story. Was this story ever written down? Well, no, it's just kind of passed down verbally at Thanksgiving. Over and over, he started hearing some of those same roadblocks. Probably the biggest one is I'm a terrible writer. And that's exactly what his Leaves: Times of My Life app hopes to solve. Pick from over 100 life story topics. Being a grandparent, right? And a virtual biographer will prompt you with questions. Just type or dictate your answers right into the phone. Then tell the app how you want it written. Warm and affectionate, reflective, biographical. Then drop in your favorite pictures or videos. Oh, here he is. And the app will generate a full written version of your story. for free. And for a fee, the app can turn it into a high-resolution video or audio cast using a generated clone of your own voice. Finding out that Arrow was on the way made me feel like I had won the grandparent lottery. Having AI do all that legwork to tell your story is one thing. But Mike understands that handing over decades of family details to technology might make some pause. So the virtual biographer is told to ask questions. So it asks questions on a specific topic. Then it only writes the story, and then zero data retention. It retains no data of its own. And that privacy is what Stacey is looking for, too. I would love it for family details. Whether it's her family history or her art business, the Times of My Life app is helping Stacey paint a complete picture. It was just really cool how it put it all together. Her photographs and watercolors are worth a thousand words, words that will never be washed away. In Lakewood Ranch, Ariel Placencia, FOX 13 News. It's pretty neat. The free Times of My Life app, it's free. It falls under the new Family Heritage Hub platform that just recently launched. And under that new hub, users have access to several different programs. For example, they can add narration to every uploaded photo. They can save important documents and they can leave messages for future generations as well.