Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry - Philosophy & Technology

It is also important to highlight that the literature employs a range of sub-terms for ‘deadbots,’ including ‘thanabots,’ ‘postmortem avatars,’ ‘griefbots,’ ‘'ghostbots,’ and ‘mind clones,’ which, as of now, are used largely interchangeably without a clear differentiation or specification.

It is also important to highlight that the literature employs a range of sub-terms for ‘deadbots,’ including ‘thanabots,’ ‘postmortem avatars,’ ‘griefbots,’ ‘'ghostbots,’ and ‘mind clones,’ which, as of now, are used largely interchangeably without a clear differentiation or specification.

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

While psychology scholars are cautious in attempting to assess this impact (Cann, 2015; Sofka Cupit Gilbert, 2012; Kasket, 2019), others suggest that, preemptively, to avoid any harm, AI chatbots meant to help cope with the loss of a loved one should be regarded, and therefore regulated, as medical devices (Lindemann, 2022).

The risk materializes if the deadbot is utilized in ways that could be construed as disrespectful, such as for advertising specific products, or if the service provider fails to implement mechanisms for handling the donor’s data as a form of remains or an ‘informational body’ (Öhman & Floridi, 2017, 647) – ensuring, for example, that, when no l... See more

Bianca cannot afford the MaNana monthly subscription fee of fifty euros, but the service is also available free of charge, provided the user agrees to the inclusion of sporadic advertisements in the system’s voice and text outputs.

For instance, in their article on the ethical framework for the DAI, Öhman and Floridi (2017, 2018) suggest several measures for protecting the dignity for those who are ‘re-mediated’ through deadbots – focusing on the perspective of data donors. In a more recent paper, Lindemann (2022), who analyzes the technology’s influence on the grieving proce... See more