An “AI life after death” is now a real option – but what will happen to your legal status?

Would you create an interactive “digital twin” of yourself that could communicate with your loved ones after your death?

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made it possible to seemingly resurrect the dead. So-called griefbots or deathbots – an AI-generated voice, video avatar or text-based chatbot trained on the data of a deceased person – are proliferating in the booming digital afterlife industry, also known as grief tech.

Deathbots are usually created by the bereaved, often as part of the grieving process. But there are also services that make it possible to create a digital twin of yourself during your lifetime. So why not create one for when you’re away?

As with any application of new technology, the idea of ​​such digital immortality raises many legal questions – and most of them have no clear answer.

Your AI afterlife

To create an AI digital twin of yourself, you can sign up for a service that offers this feature and answer a series of questions to…