Talk With Ozzy: Prince Of Digital Darkness

Maybe someday you’ll be able to ask Ozzy Osbourne life’s biggest questions. Things like, “What’s the meaning of existence?” Or, “Where did I leave my car keys?” And somehow get the same answer to both.

An interactive digital Ozzy Osbourne avatar is now in development, which means fans may soon be able to have actual conversations with a computer-generated version of the Prince of Darkness. So if you never got to meet Ozzy in person, technology is apparently stepping in like a very loud substitute teacher.

Ozzy’s son Jack says the digital version is surprisingly accurate. Quote, “It’s kind of scary how it’s really very accurate.” He added that Ozzy could exist digitally “for as long as we have computers.” So someday, hundreds of years from now, people might still be asking Digital Ozzy why he bit the head off a bat.

Sharon Osbourne says fans will be able to ask Ozzy questions and get answers back in Ozzy’s own voice, with responses based on what Ozzy likely would have said himself.

Which raises important questions.

Will Digital Ozzy randomly wander away from conversations halfway through? Will it occasionally mumble something impossible to understand? Will there be a setting where subtitles automatically appear?

Sharon says the goal is to take it around the world and keep Ozzy’s legacy alive. She pointed to Elvis as inspiration, saying, “Elvis died 50 years ago, and everybody knows Elvis. I just want that for Ozzy.”

So one day your grandkids may ask, “Who’s Ozzy Osbourne?” And an AI Ozzy can answer himself. Whether your grandkids will be able to understand him is a different story.

Doug O’Brien