Two years after saying goodbye to beloved actress Suzanne Somers, her husband Alan Hamel is bringing her back in a way nobody quite expected. The 89-year-old widower has been working on something he calls the “Suzanne AI Twin” — and according to him, it’s so lifelike that even he can barely tell the difference.
Hamel recently opened up to People magazine about the project, describing how he demonstrated the AI clone at a conference earlier this year. When he asked the digital Suzanne a few questions, the results left everyone stunned. “When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can’t tell the difference,” Hamel shared. “I’ve been with Suzanne for 55 years, so I know what her face looks like. When I just look at the two of them side by side, I really can’t tell which one is the real and which one is the AI.”
Now, before anyone thinks this is just a grieving husband going rogue with technology, here’s the thing: this was actually Suzanne Somers’ idea all along. The couple had been discussing the concept since the 1980s, when they first learned about AI possibilities. “It was Suzanne’s idea,” Hamel explained. “She said, ‘I think it’ll be very interesting and we’ll provide a service to my fans and to people who have been reading my books who really want and need information about their health.'”
So how exactly did they create this AI clone? The development team fed the system all 27 of Suzanne Somers’ books plus hundreds of her interviews, essentially training it to think and respond just like she would. The goal is to eventually launch the AI on SuzanneSomers.com, where fans can interact with her 24/7.
What makes this project even more meaningful is its purpose. Hamel says people will be able to ask health questions, and the AI will connect them directly to doctors that Somers interviewed for specific issues in her books. It’s less about creating a digital ghost and more about continuing her legacy of helping people.
The Three’s Company star passed away in October 2023 after a long battle with breast cancer, just one day shy of her 77th birthday. She and Hamel were married for 55 years, and their family has actually embraced this unconventional tribute. Hamel shared that his family “loves the idea” and believes it will eventually become just “another way to communicate with people we cared about.”
While the AI Suzanne isn’t quite ready for public interaction yet, Hamel calls the current version “perfect” and is looking forward to fulfilling his late wife’s wish of helping her fans long after she’s gone.
