AI ghostbots are bringing deceased people back to life through digital means. But is this a positive development?

Surprisingly, certain AI companies are now involved in resurrecting deceased individuals in the form of digital avatars. These digital recreations are crafted using materials such as photos, videos, texts, and emails of the deceased. Using this data, the AI creates a digital avatar that closely resembles and speaks like the person who has passed away.

These avatars, known as ghostbots, are generated using programs of generative AI and deep fake technology.

While many people believe ghostbots can lessen the sorrow felt by a person or family after the loss of a loved one, some experts caution that this technology may have negative consequences.

“I’m intrigued by the advent of ghostbots. But I’m also more than a little concerned about the potential effects of this technology on the mental health of those using it, especially those who are grieving,” Nigel Mulligan, an assistant professor in psychotherapy at Dublin City University, told The Conversation. 

Is it possible for people to form connections with ghostbots?

Similar to deepfakes, ghostbots are essentially a representation of a real person, providing interactive audio-visual depictions of the information generated by an individual.

However, grief is a powerful and intricate emotion. Those who have lost someone dear may find comfort in ghostbots during difficult times.

Digital ghosts also allowing individuals an opportunity to convey thoughts or feelings to their departed loved ones that they were unable to express when the person was alive. It’s not surprising that some companies have found a way to profit from these emotions.

This is already taking place in China. Last year in April, during the Qingming festival, which honors and commemorates the deceased, numerous funeral companies started providing ghostbot services to their clients.

The feedback appears to have been positive, based on the numerous ghostbots deployed by these companies, which they claim to have provided to their customers.

Seakoo Wu and his wife, who lost their 22-year-old son Xuanmo, engaged such an AI company. When discussing their experience, Wu told Euronews: 

“Is there a solution for the pain of losing a loved one? First, you need to change your perspective. For example, the idea that there are no connections between the departed loved ones and yourself can be changed. The connections definitely exist. If you can believe in this mindset, your pain may lessen.”

Whenever Wu’s wife misses her son and becomes emotional, her husband brings out the phone and allows her to interact with the digital avatar of Xuanmo. The ghostbot offers her comfort, expressing words such as:

“I know you’re in great pain every day because of me, and feel guilty and helpless. Even though I can’t be by your side ever again, my soul is still in this world, accompanying you through life.”

Wu and her wife do not want to stop there. They aim to create and use an extremely realistic digital avatar of their son in the Metaverse so they can virtually reunite with Xuanmo whenever they long for him.

This is just one of the numerous instances of how ghostbots are utilized in China. However, this is not the first instance of AI being used to digitally revive the deceased.

In 2021, a freelance writer in Canada utilized a software powered by ChatGPT to develop a personalized AI chatbot. The bot imitated her late ex-fiancee Jessica, who passed away eight years ago from liver disease. This was solely a text-based ghostbot, yet conversing with it held great significance for the grieving writer, who spent hours engaging with it.

According to Forbes , providers of ghostbot services are also emerging in the US, although their success is yet to be determined.

Are ghostbots beneficial for humanity?

AI programs are frequently discovered to have bias and prejudice. make errorsAt present, no AI company, including OpenAI, Google, or Microsoft, assures that their chatbots will provide responses that are 100% accurate and sensible.

As a result, ghostbots created using such AI programs can also generate responses that may cause emotional harm to individuals, further exacerbating their sorrow. Additionally, if an individual died in a distressing manner, such as through murder, rape, or a shootout, interacting with their ghostbot could heighten their grief. This may lead to increased feelings of guilt and trauma for the ghostbot users. and pain.  

“A key question here is … how ‘loyal’ are the ghost bots to the personality they were designed to mimic. What happens if they do things that will ‘contaminate’ the memory of the person they are supposed to represent,” Tal Morse, a research fellow at the UK-based University of Bath, told SCMP.

Furthermore, if a person died in a painful and horrifying manner, such as through murder, rape, or a shootout, conversing with their ghostbot may intensify grief, potentially leading to more guilt and trauma for the ghostbot users. These interactions can disrupt the lives of individuals and families by significantly impacting their mental well-being. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure the technology is completely safe — if such a thing is ever achievable — before implementing it. What about releasing the deceased

“AI ghostbots could further traumatise someone experiencing complicated grief and may exacerbate associated problems such as hallucinations. Or, in a more extreme scenario, if the ghostbot suggested the user join them in death or they should kill or harm someone,” Mulligan said.

According to psychologists, grief involves denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages play a critical role in allowing a person to experience grief and ultimately overcome it in a healthy manner.

The use of ghostbots may disrupt this process. For example, the final stage of acceptance involves coming to terms with the loss and releasing emotions such as pain, guilt, or sorrow.

However, with a ghostbot always available for conversation, the need to release the departed individual from one's thoughts may never arise. While this may provide comfort, it could also hinder the ability to cope with the loss. five stagesGrief is not solely about letting go and moving forward. It is a human way to cope with loss, manage pain, and gradually rediscover joy so that those who have departed can continue to exist with us in our memories.

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