The internet is filled with personal artifacts, much of which can linger online long after someone dies. But what if those relics are used to simulate dead loved ones? It’s already happening, and AI ethicists warn this reality is opening ourselves up to a new kind of “digital haunting” by “deadbots.” People have attempted to converse with deceased loved ones through religious rites, spiritual mediums, and even pseudoscientific technological approaches for millennia.
“Data donors” are the people upon whom an AI program is based, while “data recipients” are defined as the companies or entities that may possess the digital information. “Service interactants,” meanwhile, are the relatives, friends, and anyone else who may utilize a “deadbot” or “ghostbot.” A fake Facebook ad for a fictional 'ghostbot' company.