Grief Tech and the Implications of a Digital Afterlife
And the death tech startups recreating the dead
I’m a practice researcher in the visual arts and I’m studying death tech platforms, specifically how grief tech is designed to communicate with the bereaved on various platforms and applications. Can artificial technology do two things? One is the ability to support the grieving or hinder the process. Secondly, can AI represent the essence of who we are in a similar way as portrait photography, and if so, does AI replace photography’s 150-year reign as an identity referent and vessel of memory?
The development of AI technology raises significant ethical concerns about grief and mourning. The implications of creating AI avatars for the deceased without permission is a legal and moral issue that some death tech companies have addressed in their terms and conditions.
Beyond current limitations, the advancement of AI technology suggests that avatars will improve over time and will be more realistic and personalized. Although this sounds like a positive step in preserving the memory of our dead loved ones, prolonged grief could be a debilitating outcome if the dead are recreated in exact detail.
Other ethical considerations are at play. Who owns the avatar after the individual’s death and how secure is…
