Are chatbots of the dead a brilliant idea or a terrible one? | Aeon Essays

Left to themselves, these mourners chose a short-term tool to help them deal with loss. They did not want to recreate a loved one to keep them at their side for life.

Turkle has been observing and collecting evidence from children for more than thirty years, studying how they react to increasingly sophisticated digital toys, from Tamagotchi, Furby, and My Real Baby to Paro and Kismet. Children, as Turkle’s work suggests, are ready to build close, often intimate relationships with their interactive companions and... See more

Maybe more people will use griefbots as the shortage of qualified mental professionals worsens. People may become more comfortable talking to computers, or poor oversight might mean that many people won’t know they are talking to a computer in the first place. So far, neither questionable ethics nor tremendous cost have prevented companies from try... See more