With grief bots, this researcher studies risks of digitally cloning the dead

With grief bots, this researcher studies risks of digitally cloning the dead

Consider this hypothetical scenario: 8-year-old Sam is texting with his mom, Anna. Anna apologizes for missing his concert last week. But Anna isn’t away on a trip. In fact, she isn’t even alive. The response was from a grief bot driven by artificial intelligence. Sam’s parents uploaded Anna’s texts, videos and audio clips to the app. The service then used these to create a digital clone.   Sam’s parents hoped the bot could help him grieve once …