Dr. Deborah Bassett is a digital afterlife consultant and advisor to companies that are trying to preserve the dead in some way. She has conducted extensive interviews with people who have been grieving with digital technologies. Her view is that we should see the digital information left behind by loved ones as something we inherit from them, much like books and furniture. We know that the expression of grief has looked really different across periods of history.
When Justin’s mom was diagnosed with cancer, he knew he wanted to keep talking to her after she died. So together they made an AI version of her, training it on her speech patterns and memories. Now he is scaling his findings so that anyone can continue their relationships with loved ones after their deaths. Justin even believes this can one day lead to digital immortality.
Grief experts are only now dealing with bereaved people who create digital versions of their loved ones. We look at what they say about the phenomenon, and what philosophers think about whether the best AI version of a person can actually be them.
Co-produced with Alexandra Salmon, guests include Justin Harrison, CEO of You, Only Virtual, Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, and Dr. Debra Bassett.
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