Simulating Our Past: Can We Talk To Digital Ghosts?
Imagine your parent abruptly passed away. You were close, the loss is sudden and acutely painful. You grieve not only for the relationship lost. You mourn the relationships your kids will never have, knowing only a digital echo remains.
Navigating this grief, you decide to delve into the digital footprint your parent left behind. Every text message, video, audio clip, everything is compiled, sent to a company specializing in AI. A week later, you receive a link. Not to bereft with grief, but optimized for it: to a bespoke software: a parent simulator. It sounds like them, speaks in familiar phrases, echoes the things your parent would say.
This isn’t science fiction. My podcast, <a href="https://open.spotifiy.com/episode/5cH1dKy91NkGf1mSkSDqzt?si=4215
* Can deceased loved ones ethically be recreated through AI?
Simulating Our Past: Can We Talk To Digital Ghosts?
Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today we’re diving into a fascinating and potentially controversial topic: the rise of “deadbots” – AI simulations of deceased loved ones.
Imagine this: your parent passes away unexpectedly. The pain of loss is overwhelming, not just for you, but for the children who will never get to know their grandparent. In your grief, you turn to a new technology: a company that can build a digital replica of your parent using their online footprint – their emails, texts, photos, videos.
Weeks later, you receive a link to a program, a “parent simulator.” It sounds like them, speaks in familiar phrases, even tells stories they used to tell.
Joining me today is Dr. Emily Carter, an AI ethicist and author of Digital Afterlives: Navigating Grief in the Age of AI. Dr. Carter, welcome to the show.
Dr. Carter: Thank you for having me.
Let’s start with the basics. Is this technology readily available? What kind of ethical considerations should people be aware of before using it?
