By Eva Nieto McAvoy and Jenny Kidd* of
Photo: Unsplash
Analysis: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to preserve the voices and stories of the dead. From text-based chatbots that mimic loved ones to voice avatars that let you "speak" with the deceased, a growing digital afterlife industry promises to make memory interactive, and, in some cases, eternal.
In our research, recently published in Memory, Mind & Media, we explored what happens when remembering the dead is left to an algorithm. We even tried talking to digital versions of ourselves to find out.
"Deathbots" are AI systems designed to simulate the voices, speech patterns and personalities of the deceaed. They draw on a person's digital traces - voice recordings, text messages, emails and social media posts - to create interactive avatars that appear to "speak" from beyond the grave.
As the media theorist Simone Natale has said, these "technologies of illusion" have deep r
Continue Reading on RNZ
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.