Ozzy Osbourne is set to return posthumously as an avatar powered by artificial intelligence.
According to Billboard, the late rock legend's widow, Sharon Osbourne, and their son, Jack, discussed the digital legacy of the musician during the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas on Wednesday (May 20).
The Black Sabbath frontman died last July at 76 years old, just two weeks after performing with the band for a final time in Birmingham, England. The musician died from a heart attack after suffering from coronary heart disease.
The digital avatar will be generated in collaboration with hyper-realistic AI studio and media company Hyperreal, which has created other avatars for the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Stan Lee and Lionel Messi.
Jack described the project as containing the "digital DNA of Ozzy Osbourne, voice, image [and] movement." Sharon added that fans "can ask Ozzy anything, and he will answer you in his own voice."
"And the answers will be what Ozzy would have said," she explained. "We’re going to take it all around the world. People can talk to him and he will talk back."
Throughout the summer, the avatar will debut on digital touchscreens in the United States and U.K. Jack explained that "it’s kind of scary how it’s really very accurate."
"He will exist digitally as himself for as long as we have computers," Jack said. "Technology has come such a long way to where it’s almost drag-and-drop. You could shoot a template for a commercial … literally prompt what you want Digital Ozzy to do in that commercial and you just drop it in. It’s that simple now."
Hyperreal CEO Remington Scott said that with the consent and curation of Osbourne’s family, the avatar will be more "living performance" than a "rendering" of the deceased musician.
Additionally, an Ozzy Osbourne biopic that was announced in 2021 has been scheduled for a 2028 release and will be written by Lee Hall, known for Billy Elliott, Rocketman, Cats and more.
