From Vision to Reality: Creating Soul Tech

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been captivated by the idea of legacy. It’s one of the most profound aspects of who we are as individuals. What we leave behind, how we’re remembered, and the imprint we make on the world. Our legacy is a reflection of our lives, a thread connecting our past to the future. As Gladiator so powerfully put it, “What we do in this life will echo in eternity.” This quote, which happens to be from one of my Reflekta Co-Founder, Miles Spencer’s, favorite movies, has always resonated with me. It’s at the heart of what I’ve been thinking about for years: how can we preserve that echo in a way that transcends time, allowing future generations to understand and experience who we were? This is the question that led me to create Soul Tech, a new way of thinking about legacy, memory, and the role technology can play in ensuring that the essence of who we are lives on forever.

The foundation of Soul Tech lies in its potential to bridge the gap between technology and the most intangible aspects of the human experience: our memories, emotions, and the stories that define us. The idea came about when I realized that, as a society, we were increasingly overwhelmed by technological advancements that disconnected us from these personal elements, despite being surrounded by so much digital content. Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that technology could do more. It could enrich our lives by preserving and enhancing the very essence of who we are.

This is how Reflekta was born. Reflekta, as a platform, would be designed not merely as a means of preserving information but as an interactive space where our digital legacies could live on, offering meaningful interactions with future generations. Instead of merely storing data, Reflekta allows us to engage with avatars that replicate the emotions, memories, and personalities of those we've lost or those we want to remember for posterity. Through its use of artificial intelligence, the platform provides a deep, reflective way to communicate with these avatars, enabling a profound form of continuity across time.

Reflekta’s very concept challenges the norm. It asks what it means to remember someone, and how technology can help us truly know them. At a time when technology is often criticized for reducing our experience of life to transactional interactions and commodified relationships, Soul Tech offers a radically different perspective: one that puts the human experience at the center, preserving it for the long term, not just for efficiency or convenience.

To understand Soul Tech is to understand the intersection of artificial intelligence, memory preservation, and human connection. It is a new framework that invites us to think about the emotional ramifications of our technological choices. In a world that increasingly values automation, the question arises: how can we use AI and other advanced technologies to foster deeper emotional connections? Soul Tech answers that question with both optimism and a deep respect for humanity’s inherent need for emotional continuity.

It was during the early conceptualization of Reflekta, when I was sharing the idea with industry peers, that someone first called me the “Godfather of Soul Tech.” At first, I chuckled at the title. It seemed a little grandiose, perhaps even a bit playful, and something well beyond the grasp of my admittedly oversized ego. Yet, over time, I began to appreciate the weight of the phrase. It encapsulated the essence of what I had been trying to do with Reflekta: to not only create a platform but an entire movement that redefines how we think about legacy and memory in the context of technology.

This title, while seemingly informal, has become a source of pride. It reflects my long-standing belief that technology should not simply serve human needs, but should elevate the human experience, particularly in its most vulnerable and profound moments. In some ways, the "Godfather of Soul Tech" is not just a moniker; it's a mantle that carries with it the responsibility to push the boundaries of what technology can do for humanity. After all, Soul Tech is not about cold, mechanized interactions; it is about the reverence for human history and emotional depth. And that, in essence, is what Reflekta strives to be: a celebration of life and the memories that keep us connected across generations.

The journey of developing Reflekta and this concept of Soul Tech has not been a linear one. It’s involved late nights filled with discussions on ethics, AI, human emotions, and the fundamental need to preserve personal histories. But with the launch of Reflekta today, I believe we stand on the precipice of a new era of digital legacy preservation. One where the very fabric of human existence can be seamlessly woven into the digital world, enabling us to leave behind something more enduring than just a collection of data.

In many ways, this movement has just begun. But it is my belief that Soul Tech will not only become a key pillar in the way we think about legacy, memory, and human experience, but it will inspire future generations to think about technology in a more humanistic way. It will inspire us to ask: how can we use technology not just to record history but to experience it, to make it more human?

As we continue to build Reflekta, I look forward to seeing how the concept of Soul Tech evolves. Whether through ongoing advancements in AI or through deeper public engagement with the technology, I am excited for the world to experience this new approach to remembering and connecting. After all, we are not just preserving memories for nostalgia’s sake; we are creating an enduring legacy for humanity itself.

I’d be remiss not to acknowledge some members of the incredible team that have been instrumental in bringing this vision to life, and are often in the background doing incredible work and making this idea as incredible and tangible as it can be. William Cunningham, whose UI/UX design has truly brought our platform to life with elegance and clarity; Will Jorgenson, who has been a driving force behind the backend, ensuring the robustness and reliability of Reflekta; and William Warlick, who has pushed the boundaries of what we initially thought possible, making the product far more dynamic and powerful than we could have imagined. Their expertise, passion, and tireless work have been critical in shaping Reflekta into what it is today.

I invite you to join us on this journey, one that aims to redefine the intersection of technology and humanity, and to make our connections across time even more meaningful.