Staying Alive in the AI Death Tech Industry
The ethics of creating a virtual version of someone are complex. Who owns the data and what about consent? Feeding the digital afterlife zeitgeist are tech giants who are eager to build a synthetic heaven where big egos go to die.
In 2021 Microsoft patented a conversational chatbot designed after a real person to allow users to have virtual conversations with the deceased. At the same time, You Only Virtual was founded as an app that creates the essence of the relationship between you and your loved ones, enabling authentic conversations with the deceased. Their logo, Never Have to Say Goodbye is either a terrifying glimpse of a digital future populated by the restless dead (4) or a more economical method of bereavement therapy.
The death tech company, Eternime is boldly “looking to solve an incredibly challenging problem of humanity.” It’s not biological death that it seeks to cure but the preservation of our digital personas for all eternity. In 2016 James Vlahos created an AI chatbot or Dadbot from conversations with his late father. In 2019, Dadbot became Hereafter AI, a web application that according to the website helps, “preserve meaningful memories about your life and interactively…
