Former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta interviewed an AI model of Joaquin Oliver on Monday, August 4, about the importance of reducing gun violence. Oliver died at the age of 17 in 2018 in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. The interview happened on what would have been Oliver’s 25th birthday.
Acosta’s interview raised serious questions about the ethics of AI. However, the AI avatar, developed from a still image, was made with his parents’ permission. Acosta interviewed the AI model at his parents’ request.
Reportedly, Acosta asked the digital Oliver, “What happened to you?” and the AI version responded, “I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school. It’s important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone.”
“I really felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It’s just a beautiful thing,” Acosta later said.
Joaquin’s dad: “I like to remember my son”
Hard for me to put into words how unsavory I find this.
— Billy Binion (@billybinion) August 4, 2025
Joaquin Oliver's death was a tragedy. But animating a dead child to speak words he never said serves no journalistic purpose. All it does is chase clicks by exploiting a kid who can no longer express himself. Grim. https://t.co/xbJMWMW7Wv
According to Florida news outlet WPLG, Oliver’s parents also used the avatar to welcome people to an end to gun violence at a memorial wall in Joaquin’s honor in Washington, D.C. that same night.
Referring to his son’s avatar, Joaquin’s father, Manuel Oliver, said, “I like to remember my son not as the victim from Parkland, but as the 17-year-old kid that is becoming an icon.” Manuel added, “It’s an amazing tool to raise Joaquin’s voice. What we have been doing is an extension of what Joaquin was already fighting for.”
According to The Guardian, an AI version of Joaquin’s voice was also used in a 2024 robocalling campaign in D.C., encouraging senators to take action on gun reform. That voice said, “I’m back today because my parents used AI to re-create my voice to call you. How many calls will it take for you to care? How many dead voices will you hear before you finally listen?”
Although Joaquin’s parents approved of the AI avatar and digital voice recreation, the Acosta interview elicited comments like, “There are living survivors of school shootings you could interview, and it would really be their words and thoughts instead of completely made-up.”
“All it does is chase clicks”
Hard for me to put into words how unsavory I find this.
— Billy Binion (@billybinion) August 4, 2025
Joaquin Oliver's death was a tragedy. But animating a dead child to speak words he never said serves no journalistic purpose. All it does is chase clicks by exploiting a kid who can no longer express himself. Grim. https://t.co/xbJMWMW7Wv
Meanwhile, Reason reporter Billy Binion wrote on X, “Hard for me to put into words how unsavory I find this. Joaquin Oliver’s death was a tragedy. But animating a dead child to speak words he never said serves no journalistic purpose. All it does is chase clicks by exploiting a kid who can no longer express himself. Grim.”
But someone responded to Binion, stating, “I don’t really have a moral issue with this if it helps people process their grief.” Still, they added, “I don’t want anyone putting words in my mouth after I’m dead.”
Joaquin was one of 17 people killed and 17 others injured when 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjorie Stoneman Dougle High School in 2018. The attack lasted about six minutes and became one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. In 2022, Cruz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
