{
  "id": 15182209,
  "title": "AI can help us talk with the dead. Should we?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/ai-can-help-us-talk-with-the-dead-should-we",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-17T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Vox",
    "slug": "vox",
    "url": "https://www.vox.com/podcasts/506698/deadbots-ai-chatbots-ethics-talking-d"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2024, the digital legacy industry, which includes deadbots, is valued at $22 billion and is expected to grow to nearly $80 billion by 2034. Deadbots are AI chatbots of loved ones created after their death using personal data such as texts, voicemails, and other records. Researchers are studying the potential impacts of these digital \"deadbots\" on people who are grieving and the legacies and rights of the deceased, as well as grief practices around the world. The goal of the research is not to persuade people but to understand how they genuinely respond to AI's capabilities and how these tools might align or conflict with local grief practices. For instance, a mother in Poland decided against creating a deadbot for her son after realizing the commercial motivations behind the technology. The study also involves speculative design, where researchers come up with hypothetical scenarios based on existing technology trends to get people thinking about potential consequences.",
  "summary": "It’s now possible to create AI chatbots of loved ones to interact with after their death. But that raises some difficult questions, like: If you do, how might the experience shape your grief? This is one of the questions driving a global study of digital “deadbots” — AI models trained on a deceased person’s texts, […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Digital legacy industry valued at $22 billion in 2024",
    "Deadbots are AI chatbots of deceased individuals",
    "Study explores grief practices and deadbot impacts"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}