All Narratives (356)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 10 min
- The New York Times
- 2025
This article reports how Ukraine recovered debris from a newly encountered Shahed drone variant during Russian nighttime strikes. The drone was discovered to have advanced jamming tech, decoys, and saturation. The drone utilized new war tactics and had increased effectiveness of remote warfare.
- The New York Times
- 2025
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- 10 min
- The New York Times
- 2025
The Weapon that Terrorizes Ukraine by Night
This article reports how Ukraine recovered debris from a newly encountered Shahed drone variant during Russian nighttime strikes. The drone was discovered to have advanced jamming tech, decoys, and saturation. The drone utilized new war tactics and had increased effectiveness of remote warfare.
- What are the strategic implications of Russia acquiring and relying on Iranian tech and mass drone use?
- What are the long-term consequences and ethics of the increased use of remote military drone capabilities? What are the connections between research and commercial technologies being applied to this change in warfare tactics?
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- 5 min
- Tech Crunch
- 2025
Users being able to upload conversations they have with Meta AI has led to some viral posts containing personal data with the world.
- Tech Crunch
- 2025
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- 5 min
- Tech Crunch
- 2025
The Meta AI app is a privacy disaster.
Users being able to upload conversations they have with Meta AI has led to some viral posts containing personal data with the world.
- Do you think that search engines like Google and Bing should also attempt to turn their searches into a social media feed? Why or why not?
- How does the need for new data for AI-based products drive this trend of digital footprint integration? Would you be willing to opt out of an AI ecosystem that collected and posted your search data or would you restrict your searches and use it anyway?
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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 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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- 20 min
- AI & Society
- 2022
A high-level breakdown of popular ethical and legal considerations regarding postmortem data use. It aims to discern the extent to which users are comfortable with their data being used posthumously. Important findings include most users wanting their data automatically deleted after their death. A majority of users find that using their data in passive ways is acceptable, and there is a higher degree of tolerance among younger and heavy internet users when it comes to how their data is used.
- AI & Society
- 2022
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- 20 min
- AI & Society
- 2022
Using Deceased People’s Data
A high-level breakdown of popular ethical and legal considerations regarding postmortem data use. It aims to discern the extent to which users are comfortable with their data being used posthumously. Important findings include most users wanting their data automatically deleted after their death. A majority of users find that using their data in passive ways is acceptable, and there is a higher degree of tolerance among younger and heavy internet users when it comes to how their data is used.
Is it ethical to collect data about a new technology considering that most if not all participants don’t have a working understanding of the technology?
How might users ensure their privacy rights are preserved after they die? Should there be some kind of system of payment for personal data after death?
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- 90 min
- Minds and Machines
- 2017
The authors define DAI as the ecosystem of commercial platforms—ranging from startups like Afternote and Departing.com to tech giants like Facebook and Google—that commodify and manage digital remains (online data, profiles, memories) of deceased users. Using four real-world cases, the author discusses how economic incentives can distort the “informational body” – rewriting profiles, automating posts, and reshaping digital personas.
- Minds and Machines
- 2017
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- 90 min
- Minds and Machines
- 2017
The Political Economy of Death in the Age of Information
The authors define DAI as the ecosystem of commercial platforms—ranging from startups like Afternote and Departing.com to tech giants like Facebook and Google—that commodify and manage digital remains (online data, profiles, memories) of deceased users. Using four real-world cases, the author discusses how economic incentives can distort the “informational body” – rewriting profiles, automating posts, and reshaping digital personas.
- Should the digital remains of a deceased person be editable by family, friends, or the company hosting the digital immortal?
- Do tech companies have an ethical duty to preserve or remove digital remains?
- How are digital remains companies similar or different to funeral homes and cemeteries in the physical world? What laws govern these types of businesses and should they be applied to digital memorial companies?
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- 30 min
- Lindenwood University
- 2023
Through analyses of contemporary media, including films, television, and digital art, the paper explores how society grapples with the boundaries between life and death in the digital age. It discusses the implications of using AI to preserve or revive aspects of human identity, considering both the potential benefits for memory and mourning and the risks of commodifying or misrepresenting the deceased.
- Lindenwood University
- 2023
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- 30 min
- Lindenwood University
- 2023
Life, Death, and AI: Exploring Digital Necromancy in Popular Culture
Through analyses of contemporary media, including films, television, and digital art, the paper explores how society grapples with the boundaries between life and death in the digital age. It discusses the implications of using AI to preserve or revive aspects of human identity, considering both the potential benefits for memory and mourning and the risks of commodifying or misrepresenting the deceased.
- Discuss the pet cemetery conundrum (the reanimated versions of pets, and later humans, that are wrong and uncanny).
- What are the ways that someone could shape the digital representation of a loved one that was inconsistent with the real person? Would this be an ethical action if it helped a grieving process?