AI (143)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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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
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.
- 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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- 20 min
- Business Insider
- 2018
The founders of Eternime (Marius Ursache) and Replika AI (Eugenia Kryuva) digitally recreated their friends, and as a result, founded their companies in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The goal for Eternime is to have enough data for an individual to create a digital avatar once the technology becomes available. Replika is the closest competitor. The article explores the technical and ethical challenges of developing chatbots on a commercial scale. E.g., what age should the user be immortalized? Or how can we prevent the chatbot from revealing information that the deceased would otherwise not reveal to someone?
- Business Insider
- 2018
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- 20 min
- Business Insider
- 2018
2 Tech Founders Lose their Friends and Decide to Bring Them Back
The founders of Eternime (Marius Ursache) and Replika AI (Eugenia Kryuva) digitally recreated their friends, and as a result, founded their companies in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The goal for Eternime is to have enough data for an individual to create a digital avatar once the technology becomes available. Replika is the closest competitor. The article explores the technical and ethical challenges of developing chatbots on a commercial scale. E.g., what age should the user be immortalized? Or how can we prevent the chatbot from revealing information that the deceased would otherwise not reveal to someone?
- What other ethical problems arise with the commercial production of chatbots?
- Given the tools, would you prefer making your own digital immortal representation or trusting a company to do it?
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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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- 15 min
- 2024
In this piece, Leong—a Catholic attorney and theology graduate student—explores the ethical, spiritual, and emotional implications of “grief tech,” particularly AI-powered “ghostbots” that simulate conversations with deceased loved ones. She critiques this technology through a Christian theological lens, drawing on thinkers like Karl Rahner and Tina Beattie to argue that such digital recreations undermine the embodied nature of human personhood and the Christian understanding of death.
- 2024
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- 15 min
- 2024
The false promise of keeping a loved one “alive” with A.I. grief bots.
In this piece, Leong—a Catholic attorney and theology graduate student—explores the ethical, spiritual, and emotional implications of “grief tech,” particularly AI-powered “ghostbots” that simulate conversations with deceased loved ones. She critiques this technology through a Christian theological lens, drawing on thinkers like Karl Rahner and Tina Beattie to argue that such digital recreations undermine the embodied nature of human personhood and the Christian understanding of death.
- What does the article suggest about the meaning of personhood, and how might AI griefbots distort this concept?
- How might someone from a different religious or cultural tradition respond differently to the idea of digitally resurrecting the dead?
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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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- 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?