Imagine that it reduces the funeral where the person who died speaks directly to you, answers your questions and shares memories. It happened at the funeral of Marina Smith, a Holocaust teacher who died in 2022.
Thanks to the technology company AI called Storyfile, Smith seemed to naturally interact with his family and friends.
The system used pre -recorded answers combined with artificial intelligence to create a realistic and interactive experience. It wasn’t just a video; It was something closer to a real conversation and giving people a new way to feel associated with love after they left.
Virtual life after death
Technology has already begun to change how people think about the death of life. Several technological companies help people manage their digital lives after they left. For example, Apple, Google and Meta offer tools that allow someone you trust, access to you online accounts when you die.
Microsoft has deployed a system that can be someone’s digital data – if texts, e -maly and social media posts – and use for chatbot. This chatbot can respond to ways that sound like an original person.
In South Korea, a group of media societies has become even more married. The document entitled “Meeting You” showed that her mother had met her daughter through virtual reality. Using advanced digital display and voice technology, the mother was able to see and talk to her dead daughter as if she were really there.
These examples may seem like science, but their real tools available today. As AI is still improving, the possibility of creating digital versions of people after they die feels closer than ever.
Who owns your digital afterlife?
While the idea of digital afterlife is fascinating, it stretches great questions. For example, who owns your online accounts after you die?
This ISSU is already Discusd in courts and government surrounds the world. In the United States, almost all states have laws that allow people to include digital accounts in their will.
In Germany, the courts decided that Facebook had to provide the deceased person’s access to their account and stated that digital accounts should be considered as hereditary assets such as a bank account or house.
However, there are still challenges. For example, what if a digital clone told you or doing something online, what would you never say or do in real life? Who is responsible for what your AI version does?
When the deep actor Bruce Willis appeared in advertising without his permission, it caused a debate on how to control or use the digital forms of people or use for profit.
The price is another. While some basic digital account management tools are free of charge, more advanced services can be expensive. For example, the creation of your AI version could cost thousands of dollars, which means that only wealthy people can afford digitally. This cost barrier raises important questions about whether digital immortality can create new forms of inequality.
Mourning in the digital world
The loss of someone is often painful and in today’s world many people turn to social media to feel associated with those they have lost. Research shows that a significant proportion of people maintain the connection of social media with the deceased close.
But this new way of mourning comes with challenges. Unlike physical memories, such as photographs or monuments that disappear over time, digital memories remain fresh and easily accessible. In your social media channels, they can even appear no matter to recover emotions when you least expect them.
Some psychologists are afraid that staying in conjunction with someone’s digital presence could make people move further. This is especially true because AI technology becomes more advanced. Imagine that you can talk to the digital version of love that feels almost real. Although it might seem reassuring, for some it could still make it difficult to accept their loss and let go.
Cultural and religious views on digital afterlife
Various cultures and religions have their own unique views of digital immortality. For example:
• The Vatican, the Center of the Catholic Church, said that digital heritage should always respect human dignity.
• In Islamic traditions, scientists discuss how digital remains into religious laws.
• In Japan, some Buddhist temples offer digital graphs where families can retain and interact with the digital traces of their loved ones.
This example shows how technology is formed by different faiths of life, death and memory. They also emphasize the challenges of mixing new innovations with long -term cultural and religious traditions.
Planning your digital heritage
When you think about the future, you will probably imagine what you want to achieve in life, not what happens with your online account when you are away. However, experts argue that it is important to plan your digital assets: all from social media profiles AE -mail accounts to digital photos, online bank accounts and even cryptocurrencies.
Adding digital assets to your will can help you decide how your accounts should be managed after you leave. You may want to leave about who has access to your accounts, what should be removed, and how you would like to create a digital version of yourself.
You can even decide whether your digital self should “die” after a certain time. These are questions that more and more people will have to think about in the future.
Here are the steps you can take to control the digital afterlife:
• Decide to have a digital heritage. Think about whether the creation of digital owns your own with your personal, cultural or spiritual beliefs. Discussion about their preferences with loved ones.
• Inventory and plan for digital assets. Create a list of all digital accounts, content and tools representing your digital self. Decide how they should be managed, maintained or deleted.
• Select digital execution. Name a trusted, technically subtle person who oversees your digital assets and makes your wishes. Clear your intentions with them.
• Ensure your will cover your digital identity and assets. Determine how they should be treated, including storage, use and ethical considerations. Include legal and financial aspects in your plan.
• Prepare for ethical and emotional impacts. Consider how your digital heritage can affect loved ones. Plan to avoid abuse, ensure the financing of long -term needs and align your decision with your values.
Digital pyramid
Thousands of years ago, Egyptian Pharaohs had built pyramids to maintain their legacy. Today our “digital pyramids” are much more advanced and widely available. They only make memories; They can continue to influence the world, long after we left.
This article is re -published from a conversation based on a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.