Exploring the Ethical Dilemma: Bringing Back the Digital ‘Ghosts’ of the Deceased with AI

Exploring the Ethical Dilemma: Bringing Back the Digital ‘Ghosts’ of the Deceased with AI




When we miss someone who has passed away, we often turn to old photographs⁣ or voicemails for comfort. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, we have the option to interact with a virtual bot designed to ‍resemble and sound like ⁤our loved ​ones.
Known as griefbots,⁢ deadbots, or re-creation services, these digital ⁤replicas of the deceased offer the ‍illusion that the person is still alive, allowing for interactions as if they never left. Katarzyna​ Nowaczyk-Basińska, a​ researcher at the University of‍ Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, delves into how technology influences our⁤ experiences of ⁣death, loss, and grief.
Nowaczyk-Basińska and her ​colleague Tomasz Hollanek, a technology ⁢ethicist at the⁤ same institution, recently examined the ethical⁢ implications of technology that promises a form of “digital immortality” ⁤in a ‌paper published on May 9 ‍in Philosophy & Technology. Are‍ we sacrificing human dignity in the pursuit ​of AI ‍advancements? ‌Science News sat ⁤down with Nowaczyk-Basińska to explore this issue⁢ further. The following interview has been condensed for brevity and clarity.
SN: The TV series Black Mirror featured an episode in 2013 where a woman ⁢receives a robot ​resembling her deceased‌ boyfriend. How plausible is this ​scenario?

2024-05-15 08:30:00
Source: www.sciencenews.org

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