“Do not do this” – Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian gets backlash from fans after using AI to recreate memory with late mother

Alexis Ohanian (left), Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian (right), Sources: Getty

Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian recently leveraged AI to bring a picture with his late mother Anke to life. However, Ohanian’s actions didn’t find favor with many, who warned the Reddit co-founder that generating ‘false memories’ with AI may adversely affect his mental health.

On Sunday, June 22, Ohanian took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted a still picture and the video. The picture was an old one, and consisted of the serial entrepreneur and investor, still only a young boy then, lovingly hugging mother Anke.

Alexis Ohanian, who married Serena Williams in 2017, generated the brief nine-second video by using the AI tool Midjourney. The video offered a glimpse into how Anke may have hugged Ohanian at the time. The Reddit co-founder captioned the post:

“Damn, I wasn’t ready for how this would feel. We didn’t have a camcorder, so there’s no video of me with my mom. I dropped one of my favorite photos of us in midjourney as ‘starting frame for an AI video’ and wow… This is how she hugged me. I’ve rewatched it 50 times.”

Disapproving of Ohanian’s actions, several X users criticized the 42-year-old.

“Do not do this holy s**t,” wrote one.

“This cannot be good for your brain dude,” another commented.

“Be careful with this. Human memories are very malleable, and you’ll remember what the AI shows you whether it’s true or not,” yet another user chimed in.

“It’s not how she hugged you. You’ve been given a false memory,” one opined.

“Few months from now you’ll be talking to dead people resurrected from their social media posts in VR,” added another.

“It’s fake. But watching it will make it real for your memory. I’m not a fan of that,” weighed in yet another fan.

Last year, Ohanian cast his mind back his mother’s tragic passing in 2008 and how he eventually moved on from the heartbreaking chapter.

Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian revealed how beginning his family foundation helped him move on from mother’s tragic death

Alexis Ohanian (Source: Getty)

Glioblastoma, an aggressive, malignant brain tumor, led to Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian’s mother Anke’s death on March 15, 2008. In March last year, the Reddit co-founder briefly revisited the sad day and reflected on how difficult it was for him to move on from it until he started his family foundation.

“My mom died 16 years ago today. This used to be the hardest day of the year for me (Ides of March, go figure) and then 3 years ago I started my family foundation — and found a new meaning to this day — one that I know she’d have been proud of,” Ohanian wrote on X.

Today, Ohanian is happily married to former WTA No. 1 and 23-time singles Major champion Serena Williams. The loving couple are doting parents to two daughters; Olympia (born in 2017) and Adira River (born in 2023).