Death and Digital Immortality: Inside China's Booming AI Resurrection Industry

Wednesday - May 8 2024, 13:22 UTC - 6 months ago

In China, a growing industry offers the possibility of bringing deceased loved ones back to life through AI. Digital avatars allow for conversations and interactions with the dead, raising questions about the relationship between technology and death. However, this technology has also been used for other purposes, such as recreating historical figures and preserving family stories. As these services become more popular, we must address ethical concerns and consider the impact of bringing the dead back through technology.

If you could talk again to someone you love who has passed away, would you? This used to be a hypothetical question, but not anymore. In China, where traditional beliefs in ancestor worship hold strong, a new industry has emerged – one that offers the possibility of bringing deceased loved ones back to life through AI.Thousands of grieving individuals have already turned to digital avatars of their deceased family members for comfort and conversation .

These AI avatars, accessible on apps or tablets, offer a lifelike experience of interacting with the dead as if they were still alive. This modern twist on a cultural tradition of communicating with the dead raises some profound questions about the relationship between technology and death.In my recent story, I delved into the growing market for AI resurrection services in China. But beyond recreating lost loved ones, this technology has also been used for other fascinating purposes .

For instance, last year, Mei Lanfang – a renowned Peking opera singer born in 1894 – was brought back to life as an AI avatar to perform at a Peking opera festival in his hometown of Taizhou.But it's not just famous figures who are being resurrected through AI. Successful families are also using this technology to preserve their own stories and pass them down to future generations. One company, Silicon Intelligence, created an avatar for a 92-year-old Chinese entrepreneur, allowing him to continue telling his life story even after his passing .

Sun Kai, a cofounder of Silicon Intelligence, even created an AI avatar of his own mother who passed away in 2019. He regrets not having enough video recordings of her to train the avatar, and it inspired him to start recording his own life for his future digital twin.But as with any emerging technology, there are ethical implications to consider. The use of deceased individuals' likeness raises questions about consent and privacy .

And the same deepfake technology used for resurrection can also be used to manipulate and deceive.As the market for AI resurrection services continues to grow, we must address these concerns and carefully consider the implications of bringing the dead back to life through technology.