How AI-powered ‘deadbots’ are bringing loved ones back to life – at a cost

AI companies are pulling on consumers' heartstrings as they recreate deceased loved ones with artificial intelligence known as ‘deadbots’ or ‘griefbots.'

A growing number of companies are using artificial intelligence, or AI, to create interactive avatars of deceased loved ones.

Known as deadbots, griefbots, AI agents and AI ghosts, these lifelike digital likenesses can cost thousands of dollars to make and are now being marketed to grieving families.

James Hutson, an AI researcher at Lindenwood University in Missouri, says such companies are “really pulling on your heartstrings in vulnerable periods.”

“There are many marketing strategies that the companies are already using at this time, everything from building it into retirement planning and estate planning,” Hutson told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday. “They will create these bots and then present them to a grieving loved one, who then grants permission because they control the estate.”

The concept is nothing new – recall, for example, a hologram of the late rapper Tupac performing at the Coachella Music Festival in 2012. But recent advances in AI technology have made deadbots more realistic and interactive by analyzing social media accounts, images, videos and voice recordings.

“If you have videos of individuals, especially with different audio clips, you can recreate fairly convincingly their voice and their mannerisms,” Hutson explained.

Recent examples include the victim of a fatal road rage shooting, whose AI-generated likeness was used to provide a statement in an Arizona court in May.

Companies offering these science fiction-like digital afterlife services include Eternos, StoryFile and HereAfter AI.

From advertising to privacy rights and potential fraud, the technology has created a host of ethical and legal questions.

“We’ve already seen people that have been fooled into ransom demands,” Hutson said. “We have to be mindful of knowing that these are out there, knowing that you’re being targeted, and what specifically you need to think about in protecting your estate rights and of course those of your family.”