The human consciousness leaving our bodily form in order to move beyond the human lifespan.
Digital Immortality (29)
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- 125 min
- International Journal of Law and Information Technology
- 2021
Argues that the posthumous digital presence of individuals—such as AI-generated simulations, voice clones, and griefbots—deserves legal and ethical protections, even after a person has died. The author proposes the concept of “digital souls” to encapsulate the idea that a person’s data, personality emulations, and AI-generated likenesses should be treated with dignity and moral consideration, not just as property or public content.
- International Journal of Law and Information Technology
- 2021
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Digital Remains: Property or Privacy?
Argues that the posthumous digital presence of individuals—such as AI-generated simulations, voice clones, and griefbots—deserves legal and ethical protections, even after a person has died. The author proposes the concept of “digital souls” to encapsulate the idea that a person’s data, personality emulations, and AI-generated likenesses should be treated with dignity and moral consideration, not just as property or public content.
Discussion Prompts:
- Discuss the posthumous data rights in different regions as covered in this paper.
- Brainstorm possible regulations to combat some of the issues raised in the article and create a policy to address one of them based on similar policies found in the physical world.
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- 10 min
- Computers in Human Behavior
- 2021
The authors propose cyberthanatology as a framework to understand how digital technologies mediate experiences of death and mourning. They argue that online platforms have transformed traditional practices by enabling new forms of memorialization, such as virtual cemeteries and online grief communities. The paper emphasizes that these digital practices are not merely extensions of physical rituals but constitute new cultural forms that influence how societies perceive and cope with death.
- Computers in Human Behavior
- 2021
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- 10 min
- Computers in Human Behavior
- 2021
Cyberthanathology: Death and beyond in the digital age.
The authors propose cyberthanatology as a framework to understand how digital technologies mediate experiences of death and mourning. They argue that online platforms have transformed traditional practices by enabling new forms of memorialization, such as virtual cemeteries and online grief communities. The paper emphasizes that these digital practices are not merely extensions of physical rituals but constitute new cultural forms that influence how societies perceive and cope with death.
Discussion Prompts:
- What is cyberthanatology, and how does it differ from traditional thanatology?
- How can regulations address the challenges posed by digital inequality in memorialization practices?
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- 90 min
- Minds and Machines
- 2017
Öhman and Floridi introduce the concept of the Digital Afterlife Industry (DAI), encompassing businesses and platforms that manage, monetize, or manipulate the digital remains of deceased individuals. This includes services like memorial pages, AI-generated avatars, and posthumous social media management.
The authors argue that the DAI operates within a framework of informational capitalism, where personal data, even after death, is commodified. They highlight ethical concerns about how these practices can infringe upon human dignity, especially when the deceased’s digital presence is altered or used without consent.
To address these issues, the paper suggests that ethical guidelines governing the treatment of physical human remains could serve as a model for regulating digital remains, ensuring respect and dignity for the deceased in the digital realm.
- Minds and Machines
- 2017
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- 90 min
- Minds and Machines
- 2017
The Political Economy of Death in the Age of Information: A Critical Approach to the Digital Afterlife Industry
Öhman and Floridi introduce the concept of the Digital Afterlife Industry (DAI), encompassing businesses and platforms that manage, monetize, or manipulate the digital remains of deceased individuals. This includes services like memorial pages, AI-generated avatars, and posthumous social media management.
The authors argue that the DAI operates within a framework of informational capitalism, where personal data, even after death, is commodified. They highlight ethical concerns about how these practices can infringe upon human dignity, especially when the deceased’s digital presence is altered or used without consent.
To address these issues, the paper suggests that ethical guidelines governing the treatment of physical human remains could serve as a model for regulating digital remains, ensuring respect and dignity for the deceased in the digital realm.
Discussion Prompts:
- Discussion about monetization after death. (Kafka)
- What responsibilities do tech companies have in preserving or deleting digital content after a user’s death?
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- 35 min
- Submitted to AIES '25
Critically examines emerging technologies that enable digital immortality—the preservation and simulated interaction with the dead through AI-generated chatbots, deepfakes, or virtual avatars using personal data. The paper argues that these technologies represent a form of techno-solutionism, providing artificial remedies for the complex human experience of grief. The authors warn that digital immortality platforms—marketed by startups like HereAfter AI, Eter9, and others—pose psychological, ethical, legal, and environmental risks, especially to vulnerable grieving individuals.
- Submitted to AIES '25
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- 35 min
- Submitted to AIES '25
Wanted Dead or Alive
Critically examines emerging technologies that enable digital immortality—the preservation and simulated interaction with the dead through AI-generated chatbots, deepfakes, or virtual avatars using personal data. The paper argues that these technologies represent a form of techno-solutionism, providing artificial remedies for the complex human experience of grief. The authors warn that digital immortality platforms—marketed by startups like HereAfter AI, Eter9, and others—pose psychological, ethical, legal, and environmental risks, especially to vulnerable grieving individuals.
Discussion Prompts:
- What is digital immortality, and how does it differ from other concepts like transhumanism or consciousness uploading?
- Why do the authors argue that digital immortality platforms are a form of social media? Do you agree with this classification?
- How does the paper define and critique “techno-solutionism”?
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- 60 min
- Association for Computing Machinary
- 2023
A qualitative study was conducted with 10 participants who use griefbots to cope with loss after the death of a loved one. Interviews were about an hour long each, and the results are compiled in a readable table.
- Association for Computing Machinary
- 2023
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- 60 min
- Association for Computing Machinary
- 2023
The “Conversation” about Loss: Understanding How Chatbot Technology was Used in Supporting People in Grief.
A qualitative study was conducted with 10 participants who use griefbots to cope with loss after the death of a loved one. Interviews were about an hour long each, and the results are compiled in a readable table.
Discussion Prompts:
- What other questions could the researchers have asked the users?
- Do you think this service is something you might use? What information would you want in a griefbot about a loved one?
- What are the ways in which a bad actor could use this service in harmful ways?
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- 10 min
- Rest of World
- 2024
This article provides an overview of griefbot culture in China. Users there, according to this article, are very satisfied with the experiences they are having with the griefbots of their loved ones.
- Rest of World
- 2024
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- 10 min
- Rest of World
- 2024
AI “deathbots” are helping people in China grieve
This article provides an overview of griefbot culture in China. Users there, according to this article, are very satisfied with the experiences they are having with the griefbots of their loved ones.
Discussion Prompts:
- Why might there be a difference in the way grief bots are received in China compared to the US?
- Could griefbot technology be more effective or ethical in cultural traditions that view ancestors in the longer context of family relationships? Why or Why not?