Leaving your legacy via death bots? Ethicist shares concerns

Leaving your legacy via death bots? Ethicist shares concerns
Medscape; by Arthur L. Caplan, PhD; 8/21/24
I heard recently about a fascinating, important development in artificial intelligence (AI)... It has entered into a space where I think patients may raise questions about whether they should use it or seek opinions from doctors and nurses, particularly those involved with seriously ill people. That space is grieving, and what might be called "death bots..." This would allow not only spouses but grandchildren and people in future generations to have some way to interact with an ancestor who's gone. It may allow people to feel comfort when they miss a loved one, to hear their voice, and not just in a prerecorded way but creatively interacting with them. On the other hand, there are clearly many ethical issues about creating an artificial version of yourself. One obvious issue is how accurate this AI version of you will be if the death bot can create information that sounds like you, but really isn't what you would have said, despite the effort to glean it from recordings and past information about you. Is it all right if people wander from the truth in trying to interact with someone who's died?
Publisher's note: The article includes several thoughtful ethical questions regarding this use of AI via "death bots."