deadbot

This is a chatbot that imitates a person who is dead, usually at the request of someone who loves them and doesn’t want to let them go.  It follows the path of creating customised chatbots.  You can request a chatbot that is male or female, has a particular language style, and distinctive personality traits.  This development has been extended to create deadbots.  It requires a lot of data about the person being handed over, such as their social network data, so that AI can build the particular personality.  There are many issues in this.  The first is the question of consent which is surely required.  If the person when alive had the right to privacy, they must still have it when they are dead.  And finally an autonomous AI could well develop their character in ways which they might find offensive if they were alive to protest.  And what does it do for the mental health of the person engaged in a deadbot relationship?   It’s tricky.