AI can allow us to 'talk' to the dead, but is that healthy?
What’s happening
Late in his life, having already established himself as one of the most influential inventors of all time, Thomas Edison told an interviewer he was working on a new idea that would have blown all of his previous breakthroughs out of the water: A device that would allow the living to communicate with the dead.
Edison’s “spirit phone” never became a reality, of course, but nearly a century after his death, artificial intelligence is giving people a remarkably convincing substitute.
A handful of new startups are taking advantage of AI’s ability to mimic language, voice and movements in order to “resurrect” the dead in the form of a digital avatar. These systems scan photos, messages and recordings to compile an interactive version of a deceased person that the living can have realistic back-and-forth discussions with — either through a text-based chatbot, audio messages or a simulated video call. The level of realism varies a lot depending on the depth of data provided. The most basic options build a relatively crude facsimile using photos and emails. The more intensive versions use hours of video from interviews conducted with someone while they’re still alive to produce what one company calls a “high fidelity” version of them after they’ve passed.
One of the most advanced digital afterlife companies, HereAfter AI, developed out of a chatbot that its co-founder built to mimic conversations with his father after he died of lung cancer. The head of one of the other leaders in the space, StoryFile, had his mother’s avatar answer questions at her own funeral. Simpler options have also become popular in China, particularly among parents who have lost children.
Why there’s debate
Not surprisingly, many people are creeped out by the idea of so-called AI resurrection. But beyond the initial uncanniness of the whole experience, some experts in the psychology of grief say this new technology could prove to be quite harmful.
The No. 1 concern is that these digital replicas could prevent mourning people from ever having to go through the difficult but crucial process of confronting their loss. Some experts also worry about the risk of having people in a deeply vulnerable condition relying on flawed AI systems — which have been known to lie, make things up and even occasionally provide dangerous advice — in processing their grief. There are also concerns about consent, since many people likely won’t want to be replicated after they’re dead but have no way to stop the living from proceeding against their wishes.
But testimonials from people who have used these services suggest that they can bring some much-needed comfort in difficult times, and at no point were they ever at risk of believing that the AI version was really their lost loved one. Some grief researchers add that AI can be just a modern extension of methods that humans have always used to process tragedy. They argue that speaking to a digital avatar is no different than well-established methods used by psychologists to help people come to terms with death, including things like having them talk to an empty chair or write a letter to the dead.
What’s next
As with so many things in this early era of AI, this technology is still in its infancy, meaning many of the benefits and pitfalls are only starting to be understood. A lot will depend on how rapidly the systems develop and whether they’re ever capable of creating replicas that are truly indistinguishable from the real thing.