Scientific article
English

AI, mourning and digital immortality. Some ethical questions on digital remain and post-mortem privacy

ContributorsGamba, Fiorenzaorcid
Published inEtudes sur la mort, no. 1 (no 157), p. 13-25
Publication date2022
Abstract

AI is bringing the world of the living closer and closer to the world of the dead. Holograms, digital twins and chatbots are increasingly used to reproduce the likenesses, behaviours and emotions of the deceased. Moreover, such technologies enable these replicas to interact with the survivors. This use implies transformations in the processing of mourning – emblematic is the case of I Met You discussed here – and in the concept of immortality, but also raises ethical questions about digital remains and post-mortem privacy. After an overview of applications of AI in the field of simulation of human behaviour and emotion, the article analyses their issues with regards to mourning and the uses of digital remains, then underlines ethical aspects, especially addressing the topics of post-mortem privacy and the digital immortality.

Keywords
  • Digital immortality
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Post-mortem privacy
  • Digital ethic
  • Digital mourning
  • Immortalité numérique
  • Intelligence artificielle
  • Ethique du numérique
  • Deuil numérique
Citation (ISO format)
GAMBA, Fiorenza. AI, mourning and digital immortality. Some ethical questions on digital remain and post-mortem privacy. In: Etudes sur la mort, 2022, n° 1 (no 157), p. 13–25. doi: 10.3917/eslm.157.0013
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Article (Published version)
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Identifiers
Journal ISSN1286-5702
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