How AI deadbots help people talk with the dead—and what should guide their use?
What Deadbots Can Do
Deadbots are AI models trained on a deceased person’s texts, voicemails, and other personal data. Researchers also call them postmortem avatars, and are examining what it means to speak with simulations of people who have died.
The technology connects with a familiar longing: many people who are grieving wish they could keep talking with those they miss. But researchers are investigating how such interactions might shape grief, as well as the deceased person’s legacy and rights.
Listening Across Cultures
Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, an assistant professor at the University of Cambridge, has studied digital immortality for more than a decade. She asks who can persist after death, in what form, through which technologies, and under whose control.
Because asking grieving people to try new software could be harmful, Nowaczyk-Basińska worked with a death doula to host intimate dinner discussions. The gatherings took place in China, India, and Poland, locations chosen partly to address research that often centers Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic populations.
A Mother Reconsiders
At a dinner in Poland, Nowaczyk-Basińska met a mother whose son had recently died. The mother initially felt ready to create a digital version of him, she said.
By the end of the discussion, the mother saw that an avatar might help but could also bring additional burdens—and would not be her son. Nowaczyk-Basińska said the mother also recognized that companies may pursue retention, attachment, and monetization rather than care.
A Growing Commercial Market
The article puts the digital legacy industry at $22 billion in 2024 and says it is expected to approach $80 billion by 2034. That total includes deadbot platforms alongside more established services such as online memorials, counseling resources, and estate planning tools.
The broader business of grief is not new, but AI could change how people relate to loss. Researchers are seeking to understand how these systems fit with local grief practices and where they may conflict with them.
Key points
- Deadbots use a deceased person’s personal data to simulate conversation.
- Researchers are studying effects on grief, cultural practices, and the rights of the dead.
- A Polish mother reconsidered creating an avatar after discussing its possible burdens and commercial aims.
- The digital legacy industry was valued at $22 billion in 2024 and is projected to near $80 billion by 2034.