The emergence of Thanabots —artificial intelligence systems designed to simulate deceased individuals—presents unprecedented challenges at the intersection of artificial intelligence, legal rights, and societal configuration. This short policy recommendations report examines the legal, social and psychological implications of these posthumous simulations and argues for their prohibition on ethical, sociological, and legal grounds.

Imagine that you are given access to an AI chatbot that compellingly mimics the personality and speech of a deceased loved one. If you start having regular interactions with this “thanabot,” could this new relationship be a continuation of the relationship you had with your loved one? And could a relationship with a thanabot preserve or replicate the value of a close human relationship? To the first question, we argue that a relationship with a thanabot cannot be a true continuation (...) of your relationship with a deceased loved one, though it might support one’s continuing bonds with the dead. To the second question, we argue that, in and of themselves, relationships with thanabots cannot benefit us as much as rewarding and healthy intimate relationships with other humans, though we explain why it is difficult to make reliable comparative generalizations about the instrumental value of these relationships. (shrink)

Chatbots of the dead are chatbots designed to converse in ways that resemble specific dead people. We argue that chatbots of the dead are continuous with representations found in art, like memoir and theater, and function as props that mandate and prompt imaginal interactions with the deceased. We proffer a framework for conceptualizing chatbots of the dead, inspired by an analogy to participatory theater, according to which chatbots are thought of as actors that have trained on character sketches in order (...) to stage participatory performances of the deceased. We argue that this framework ameliorates common worries about this technology and spotlights creative design possibilities. We then take a first step to developing an artistic analysis of chatbots of the dead. We describe five artistic values–evocativeness, informativeness, reflection, catharsis, and enjoyment–that can be pursued through this medium, and we provide some provisional suggestions about how this might be done. Along the way, we apply insights from literary criticism, performance art, theater studies, and psychology. (shrink)