On the latest episode of The Osbournes podcast, Sharon and Jack Osbourne addressed the controversy surrounding the recently announced Ozzy Osbourne A.I. avatar, which will enable fans to hold conversations with a digital version of the late Black Sabbath frontman through a partnership between the Osbourne family, digital human technology company Hyperreal, and Proto Hologram. The avatar will enable the digital Ozzy to have conversations with fans and move, speak, and respond as he would.
Addressing critics of the project, Jack said (transcribed by Blabbermouth): “What we’re doing — this isn’t, and I’ve said it, this isn’t ChatGPT with dad’s face on it. It’s a closed A.I., so it’s not connected to the Internet. We built a database, and I cannot emphasize enough that this is the only information that either my dad said or was accurate, or was written accurately about him.”
Sharon pushed back on cash-grab accusations: “Why go on a jet when there’s a propeller? What are you doing? Well, you know what? Technology moves on, and I’m sorry for those people. I’m not asking you to come. I don’t want your f***ing money. I don’t need your f***ing money… And the thing is, for somebody to turn around to me and say I’m doing a cash grab — no, you don’t know my husband, okay? I know my husband, and my husband would say to me over and over, ‘After I go, how long do you think I’ll be remembered? How long do you think?’ And I’d go, ‘I just don’t know, ’cause I’ll probably be going with you, so don’t ask me.’ But the thing was, for 10 years we have been exploring it… And we’re moving with the times… I’m not gonna let anyone bastardize my husband.”
Jack emphasized the family’s desire for full ownership and control: “The most important thing for me is that when we create this digital imprint of Dad, we create it, we own it, we control it. And it’s something that…” “…we’ll pass on through our family,” Sharon added. “And it’s for our grandkids.”
Jack acknowledged the commercial dimension plainly while clarifying what the technology actually is: “And at the end of the day, if keeping Dad alive and accessible to a fan is a cash grab, then f***ing guilty as charged because at the end of the day, entertainment and the industry that we’re in, none of this is for f***ing charity… But the technology that we are utilizing, it is not Claude or ChatGPT, which you can ask any question about anything. It’s a closed A.I. module that is not connected to the Internet.”
On fears the A.I. could become uncontrollable, Jack was dismissive: “Someone said, ‘Oh, it’s dangerous. You can’t control it.’ And I was, like, ‘What the f*** do you think this is, Terminator? It’s gonna go sentient and next thing you know Ozzy’s gonna launch the nukes?’ But I think, for me, it’s not about pretending he’s still alive. For me, it’s about making sure he’s never forgotten.”
Jack and Sharon also compared the project to widely accepted forms of legacy preservation — from audiobooks to centuries-old books still in print — and pointed to the Michael Jackson biopic, which has earned nearly a billion dollars, as evidence that fans actively seek immersive engagement with deceased icons. “Either we’re gonna do it, or someone else is in 50, 20 years, whatever,” Jack said. “This will become the norm for every well-known person. Just like when people started creating f***ing websites for their bands.” Sharon cited ABBA’s concurrent hologram run in London as further precedent: “And they’re not even f***ing dead.”
Digital Ozzy will appear in Proto Luma units — life-size, patented holoportation devices featuring an 86-inch multi-touch volumetric display, 4K resolution, high-fidelity speakers, and spatial computing/conversational A.I. capabilities — in the U.K. and U.S. beginning late summer 2026.
“Every element of this avatar was built exclusively from authenticated, approved source material: curated, consented, and controlled by the people who love him most,” Hyperreal CEO Remington Scott said in a statement. “This is a living performance, not a rendering.” “It’s an honor to be trusted to bring one of the true gods of rock back to the world to continue to connect with fans,” added David Nussbaum, founder of Proto Hologram. Hyperreal previously created an A.I.-powered avatar of the late Stan Lee for the 2025 Los Angeles Comic Con, where visitors paid $15 to speak with the holographic figure.
Ozzy died July 22, 2025, of a heart attack at age 76; his death certificate also listed coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease. His final performance was at the “Back to the Beginning” charity concert in Birmingham, U.K., alongside the original Black Sabbath lineup of guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.
